TALCO, Chile - At least 214 people have died following a massive earthquake. The quake was an 8.8 magnitude, and one of the largest ever recorded.  It ripped houses bridges and highways apart in central Chile. It also sent a tsunami into the Pacific.

The quake also caused numerous aftershocks, and Chile's president declared a "state of catastrophe" for the central part of the country.

President Obama has offered assistance to Chile if it is requested.

Meanwhile, the tsunami alert for Hawaii has been cancelled.  A forecaster with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says Hawaii dodged the bullet.  Hawaii's governor says there is no damage reported.

Japan, meanwhile, says it is gearing up for waves of up to ten feet from the tsunami.

DAYTON, Ohio - Forecasters say that the heavy winter weather this week is behind us for now. But we can still expect some light snow showers, and there may be some accumulation.  The forecast is calling for a chance of flurries or snow showers through Wednesday. We could see some sunshine Thursday. But cold temperatures will be the rule through the week.

Most of the snow emergencies around the Miami Valley have now been lifted, but police are still urging motorists to watch for slick spots or areas where the snow may have drifted.

NEW CARLISLE -- (Springfield News-Sun) -- After 122 years of doing business in the heart of New Carlisle, Trostel's Home Furnishings at 201 S. Main St. is closing its doors.

The store closed temporarily this week. It will reopen March 5 for a liquidation sale that will go on until the merchandise is gone, according to Jane Slanker, owner of the family owned and run business.

At a time when other businesses are closing because of the economy, the popular furniture store is closing for other reasons.

Co-owner and manager Jim Slanker died at age 60 on Oct. 1. His wife, Jane, found that running the business by herself while maintaining the high quality of service their customers had come to expect was an impossible task.

"The economy didn't make it easier, but losing my partner was the biggest factor." Slanker said. "I just cannot manage it as well by myself as we did as a team."

Over the next week the sizable inventory at Trostels will be reorganized by manufacturer and retagged with liquidation prices. The business Web site, www.trostels.com, lists 24 manufacturers from all over the country.

On Friday March 5, the liquidation sale will begin at 10 a.m.

The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, then from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 7, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday hours will be 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

"We will still do some special ordering the first week of the sale," said Slanker.

"We hope to do this in a timely manner," Slanker said. She expects to have the liquidation completed within six to eight weeks.

As the sale progresses, store hours may change and will be posted at the door, on the Web site, in advertisements and on the answering machine at (937) 845-9000.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - (AP) -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has signed a bill extending health insurance to jobless Ohioans for three additional months under the state's mini-COBRA law.

The bill extends coverage from 12 months to 15 months to allow those who lose their jobs to take full advantage of federal subsidies available to help them pay for the temporary mini-COBRA coverage.

It is the second extension of mini-COBRA benefits Ohio has enacted in about a year.

Lawmakers of both parties supported the legislation and Strickland praised them for coming together to help the unemployed.

Ohio's jobless rate is just under 11 percent.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky bakery that makes Girl Scout

cookies is pulling some batches of its Lemon Chalet Cremes because

people have complained of a foul smell and taste.

   Little Brownie Bakers in Louisville is one of two bakeries in

the U.S. that makes Girl Scout cookies. No one has gotten sick from

the stinky cookies sold in 24 states, and the company says they are

safe to eat.

   The bakery says on its Web site that the smell is caused by a

breakdown of oils in the cookies.

   The cookies were distributed in Alabama, California, Colorado,

Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,

Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New

York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, Montgomery County - Two homeless men who were found murdered in a creek bed Friday have now been identified.   They are 55 year old Harvey Sims Jr. and 49 year old Nathan Gay.  Both men suffered gunshot wounds, and police believe they were killed execution style to send a message.  The creek is in the 2700 block of Germantown-Liberty Road, but police believe the killings happened in some other location.

EWA BEACH, Hawaii -- Hawaii braced Saturday for a potentially damaging tsunami, after a massive earthquake off Chile sent waves across the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning -- its highest alert -- for Hawaii, where incoming waves could cause damage along the coastlines across the island chain. A warning was also in effect for Guam, American Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands.

The first waves were expected to arrive in Hawaii at 11:19 a.m. Saturday (4:19 p.m. EST).

A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands.

Authorities in Australia did not issue a warning, but asked residents to stay away from the coast.

The Ewa Beach, Hawaii-based center called for "urgent action to protect lives and property" in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to tsunami warnings.

"The main thing is we want everyone to take this event seriously," said Charles McCreery, director of the center.

McCreery said he didn't know how big the waves will be, but he expected them to be the largest to hit Hawaii since 1964.

The state planned to sound warning sirens statewide at 6 a.m. to alert residents and tourists of the incoming tsunami, said Shelly Ichishita, spokeswoman for state civil defense.

People in coastal areas, such as tourist-filled Waikiki, will then be instructed on a possible evacuation. The sirens will also be sounded again three hours prior to the estimated arrival time.

If coastal areas are evacuated, visitors in Waikiki would be moved to higher floors in their hotels, rather than moved out of the tourist district, which could cause gridlock.

Ichishita said people who are not in evacuation zones to stay away from coastal areas.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile in 1960. The deadly wave that it caused raced across the Pacific and hit the Hilo area of the Big Island, where 61 people were killed.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - A low pressure system has created windy conditions around the Dayton area with snow drifting and a possible accumulation of 1"-3" inches by Saturday morning.

Drivers are advised to drive with their headlights on and remain at a safe distance from those in front of you.
Mercer, Miami, Clinton, and Darke Counties are all under a Level 2 Snow Emergency. Those under a Level 1 Snow Emergency include Clark, Logan, Champaign, and Greene Counties.

Temperatures are expected to drop into the low 20's but the Miami Valley isn't getting hit as bad as Cleveland where Hopkins Airport has begun cancelling flights.

OKINAWA, Japan - Minutes ago an earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan near the island of Okinawa.

The U.S. Geological Survey classified it as having a 7.3 magnitude.

Japanese authorities are advising people to evacuate coastal areas in anticipation of a possible tsunami.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- A Jefferson Township mobile home goes up in flames overnight.

The blaze happened in the 100 block of Colgate.

The couple that lives there was sleeping when the fire broke out but escaped unharmed.

Investigators say a space heater too close to some blankets caused the fire.

There were no working smoke detectors.

WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio -- An autopsy of a man found dead Wednesday in the Great Miami River shows he died from drowning.

Dayton Daily News reporter Steve Bennish reports investigators still don't know what led the death of John W. Purt, 58, of West Carrollton

The Montgomery County Coroners Office says the victim had not been in the water long.

Purt lived a short distance of a low dam in the 600 block of North Alex Road

There was no obvious sign of trauma on the body.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

DAYTON, Ohio -- Four more attractions have been announced for the 2010 Vectren Dayton Air Show.

Those acts include stunt pilot Sean Tucker; Team Fastrax a skydiving team that hails from Middletown; Aeroshell Aerobatic Team, the members of which perform in AT-6G aircraft; and the School Time Jet-Powered School Bus.

They will join other acts, including the previously announced U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

The show is set for July 17 and 18 at the Dayton International Airport.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- A onetime Miami Township cop accused of assaulting a suspect pleads to a lesser charge.

Thomas Seifert pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $1,300. Seifert had been charged with assault and accused of hitting a suspect in handcuffs.

Seifert had been with the Miami Township police department for fourteen years and since has resigned.

He was accused of kneeing a man in the head and knocking him unconscious outside a Milanos restaurant last month.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- A Harrison Township man is poisoned in his own home.

The 46-year-old homeowner was nearly overcome by carbon monoxide.

CO levels in the man's blood were nine times the healthy limit.

The man was treated at a local hospital and is expected to fully recover.

The man told firefighters he ran a generator and propane heater inside his home because his power was shut off

PREBLE COUNTY, Ohio -- The investigation continues into a fatal Preble County crash.

It happened yesterday morning just west of State Route 503 around 10:20 a.m.

The victim was traveling east on Halderman Road when it went off the right side of the road, overturned and struck a tree.

Joseph W. Puckett, 24 of West Alexandria, was pronounced dead at the scene. Passenger Stefanie K Grays, 23, of West Alexandria, was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Grays' 3-year-old son was taken by Careflight to Children's Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, for treatment of injuries.

FOSTORIA, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Seismic Network says a small earthquake has hit northwest Ohio, with reports of wobbly legs, rattling windows and a loud boom.

Network Coordinator Michael Hansen said Thursday that a preliminary analysis shows the earthquake's center was between Bettsville and Fostoria and that it ranked around a 2.4 or 2.5 on the 10-point Richter magnitude scale.

He says the tremor was felt around 5:15 p.m. and likely lasted less than 10 seconds.

There were no reports of injury and Hansen says such a "tiny" quake happens regularly is not the type that would cause damage.

He says the quakes help researchers locate Ohio fault lines, which are below the earth's surface.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The man suspected of killing 11 women whose bodies were found in and around his Cleveland home has been indicted on attempted murder, kidnapping and felonious assault charges.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Thursday that a grand jury returned the three-count indictment against 50-year-old Anthony Sowell . He's already facing a possible death penalty in the 11 deaths.

The latest charges involve an alleged attack on a 42-year-old Cleveland woman at Sowell's home.

Mason says his office is still investigating unsolved homicides for the period when Sowell lived in Cleveland and the nearby community of East Cleveland. He says he thinks more victims will be found.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Troy Tabler hit a 3 with .5 seconds left to give Wright State a 76-73 win over Youngstown State on Thursday night.

The Raiders (19-10, 12-5 Horizon League), who trailed by 12 in the first half, shot 66.7 percent in the second half (14 of 21) to prevent the Penguins from snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Youngstown State (8-20, 2-15) took a 35-23 lead on Ashen Ward's 3 with 2:13 left in the first half.

Todd Brown's jumper pulled Wright State within 35-34, 10 seconds into the second half, but it wouldn't take reclaim the lead until Tabler's 3 for a 58-57 advantage with 8:33 left.

The Raiders led by four, three different times before Vytas Sulskis' two free throws tied it at 70 with 28 seconds left.

Todd Brown scored 16 for Wright State and Vaughn Duggins added 15.

Sulskis led the Penguins with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Sirlester Martin added 16 points.

WASHINGTON -- The House has voted to extend -- for a month -- a series of programs set to expire Sunday, including unemployment benefits and subsidies to help pay health premiums through the COBRA program.

The bill passed the House on a voice vote Thursday evening and was sent to the Senate.

It is a stopgap measure to continue existing programs while lawmakers decide how to address the issues long-term. The bill, which would cost about $10 billion, would extend highway funding and would spare doctors from a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments.

It would extend a small business loan program and the copyright license used by satellite television providers.

DAYTON, Ohio - In an act of solidarity members from the Board of Directors of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference came to Dayton Thursday to show support for chairman Raleigh Trammel.

Trammel is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly embezzling $570,000 from the organization.

The FBI raided Trammels office earlier this month looking for computers and files that may help in their investigation.

"We have thus far seen no evidence of any misuse or unauthorized use of SCLC funds," said Randy Johnson, of the SCLC senate finance committee.

Results of the investigation are expected to come in April.

WHIOTV.com contributed to this article.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Ohio's elections chief wants more disclosure about corporate money going to campaigns in the state.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is proposing that the state require companies to report what they spend on Ohio political advertising and supply the state with advance copies of their ads.

A Supreme Court ruling last month allows corporations to spend freely on independent ads that are not coordinated with campaigns but urge the election or defeat of a particular candidate.

Brunner, who's now seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, says she wants to make sure voters know who's behind political messages. The rules she's proposing to lawmakers also would apply to unions.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Judge David E. Cain of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court ruled that the health department exceeded its authority and vacated fines against Zeno's bar in Columbus.

Cain made it clear in his decision that property owners are only liable to a reasonable degree when he wrote "Placing the onerous of enforcing the SmokeFree Act against individuals completely on property owners is ludicrous and defies basic notions of fairness."

A spokesman for the health department says they plan on appealing the case.

This could set favorable legal precedent for opponents of the ban who may challenge the ban in other Ohio cities.

The Columbus-based 1851 Center for Constitutional Law says the ruling allows bars across the state to challenge fines.

SCHERERVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- The sister of a SeaWorld trainer killed in Florida by a whale says the woman loved the whales like children and wouldn't want anything to happen to the one that pulled her into the water.

Trainer Dawn Brancheau grew up near the northwestern Indiana town of Cedar Lake. Diane Gross of nearby Schererville says her 40-year-old sister's passion for marine life began at the age of nine on a family trip to Sea World.

Brancheau was rubbing the whale named Tilikum after a noontime show Wednesday when the whale grabbed her and pulled her in, killing her. The park said it hasn't decided yet what to do with the whale.

Gross tells The Associated Press that news of her sister's death "hasn't sunk in yet."

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio -- A local teacher and veteran civil rights movement has died.

Hellen O'Neal McCray, a Yellow Springs resident since 1966, was 68.

Dayton Daily BNews Reporter Steve Bennish says she taught English and literature at Wilberforce University. as well as school in Springfield for 29 years.

As a college student, she was jailed in Mississippi as a Freedom Rider in 1961, the first of four arrests for her civil rights work.

The Freedom Rides were a series of demonstrations in which volunteers, many of them college students, rode buses into the segregated South to test civil rights law.

She is among the Freedom Riders featured in a documentary, "Freedom Riders: The Children Shall Lead," produced by The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi.

She was born in Clarksdale, Miss., and attended Immaculate Conception School, Myrtle Hall Colored School and Holy Rosary School in Lafayette, La., according to her biography for the online African American HistoryMakers Website.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Porter-Qualls Funeral Home, Xenia.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A teenage runaway who fled Ohio claiming she'd be harmed for converting to Christianity says it's no longer possible for her to reconcile with her Muslim parents.

Attorneys for Rifqa Bary say in a court filing that efforts by Ohio and Florida courts to reunify the family have failed and she continues to fear being hurt by her parents.

The 17-year-old girl also says in the filing in Franklin County Juvenile Court that she fears being killed or harmed if she's sent back to her native Sri Lanka.

Judge Elizabeth Gill is expected to rule on Bary's latest request and several others by the teen and her parents at a hearing Tuesday.

Police in Florida and Columbus found no evidence the girl faced harm.

NEW YORK CITY -- A onetime area sportscaster has been charged in New York with raping a 14-year-old girl.

Marvell Scott, who worked for WDTN-TV Channel 2 before leaving for New York in 2002, says he is the victim of a shakedown.

Scott has been charged with rape, patronizing a prostitute and endangering the welfare of a child, charges that carry up to seven years in prison.

He told the New York Daily News that the whole thing is a hoax.

Dayton Daily News reporter Anthony Gottschlich says prosecutors contend Scott, 36, met a pimp and two young girls in Times Square in June 2008.

He allegedly paid the pimp and brought the girls, ages 14 and 16, to his old apartment and pressured the younger one into sex.

Scott called the story bogus, saying he met the girls but only allowed them into his home because one was distressed and asked to use his bathroom.

Scott reportedly left his broadcasting career in New York last year for sports medicine.

He graduated from Wright State Medical School in 2001 and was a running back for the Dayton Skyhawks, a professional indoor football team until 2000.

Scott played football at the University of Illinois and the University of Delaware.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

DAYTON, Ohio -- A man exposes himself to a couple of teenage sisters in Dayton.

It happened just after the girls got off a bus at the corner of West Third and South Paul Lawrence Dunbar streets.

Reports indicate the man turned around and exposed himself to the 16-year-olds and told them to "Come here."

They ran to the nearby Dakota Center for help.

A search failed to turn up the perp.

Anyone with information should call Dayton Police at 333-COPS.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys will play the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2010 Hall of Fame exhibition game, one day after Cowboys star Emmitt Smith and longtime Bengals coach Dick LeBeau are inducted.

The game will be played on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio, marking the beginning of the NFL's preseason schedule.

Induction ceremonies will be held on Aug. 7. Smith, the NFL's career leader in yards rushing, was elected along with six other players, including Jerry Rice, John Randle, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm and Floyd Little.

LeBeau will be enshrined as a Detroit Lions cornerback. But the current defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers also spent 18 years as a coach with the Bengals, including three as head coach from 2000-02.

WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio -- A body found floating in the Great Miami River in West Carrollton has been identified as 58-year-old John W. Purt.

The body was found around 12:40 p.m. near a low dam in the 600 block of North Alex Road.

An autopsy will be performed as there was no obvious trauma on the body.

Investigator say they've seen nothing that indicates suicide or foul play.

DAYTON, Ohio -- It'll be five years in prison for a man convicted of beating a developmentally disabled man to death.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lou Grieco reports Derek W. Byrd, 44, of 2052 Ravenwood Ave., was to go on trial on Jan. 20, but pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Jan.8.

Cops found DonnRay Jackie Dixon's badly beaten body July 17, 2008 on Ravenwood, a few blocks from his house on West Fairview Avenue. Cops say Byrd beat Dixon with his fists.

Byrd had been free on bond since October 2008.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The federal government says Ohio must use $400 million in stimulus money for a new passenger train project, which is to include Dayton, not on highways as suggested by Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich.

Kasich, a critic of the train project, said this week the money ought to be used to repair roads and bridges.

Rob Kulat, a spokesman for the Federal Rail Administration, said Wednesday the money can't be reallocated. It was part of $8 billion that the stimulus bill set aside for rail projects in the United States. The awards were given to 31 states based on competitive bids.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said Kasich still believes that Gov. Ted Strickland should ask the federal government for flexibility.

Ohio is planning a 79-mph startup service connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati by 2012.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Reassurance from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that interest rates will stay low lifted stocks after a two-day slide

Bernanke has sounded an upbeat note about a recovery in the economy Wednesday as part of his semi-annual report to Congress. He says low interest rates are needed to support growth.

Investors want to see low-cost borrowing continue to help revive the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 92 points at 10,374 after falling 101 Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 11 at 1,105. The Nasdaq composite has risen 22 to 2,236.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell. Volume totaled 1 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange, compared with 1.1 billion Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP)-- The House has voted to repeal the health insurance industry's exemption from federal antitrust laws, giving Democrats an easy win on health care a day ahead of President Barack Obama's bipartisan health summit.

That health care summit will be streamed live tomorrow on www.newstalkradiowhio.com starting around 10 a.m. and lasting through the day.

The vote was 406-19, with most Republicans siding with majority Democrats against a widely unpopular industry which has been under attack by Democrats and consumer advocates for recent rate hikes.

Republican lawmakers complained, though, that the legislation passed Wednesday was largely symbolic and would have little real impact since states already regulate health insurers.

Independent experts largely share that view. Democrats, however, contended that the bill would help consumers by increasing competition. Prospects are dim in the Senate.

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) -- Lindsey Vonn has crashed out of the first run of the Olympic giant slalom race.

The American lost control around a right turn on the top half of the course Wednesday, got twisted around, landed hard on her left hip and crashed backward into the safety netting.

After being checked course-side for a few minutes, Vonn got up and skied down to the finish.

U.S. Ski Team spokesman Doug Haney said Vonn banged her finger a little bit, but was otherwise fine.

WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio -- A body found floating in the Great Miami River in West Carrollton appears to be a white male in his late forties or early fifties.

Dayton Daily News reporter Steve Bennish reports the body was found around 12:40 p.m. near a low dam in the 600 block of North Alex Road. The body was 30 to 40 yards off shore.

So far there's no ID on the victim and an autopsy will be performed.

There was no obvious trauma on the body, according to reports.

West Carrollton Police and Fire as well as Five Rivers MetroParks personnel were on the scene.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Ohio schools hard hit by this year's snows still have five calamity days for canceling classes without having to make up the lost time. That changes next year.

Districts will have only three calamity days beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.

Educators, state officials and others say making up lost days can complicate school planning and even add costs, at times. But many support reducing calamity days in favor of providing as much class time as possible for students.

They say instructional time is necessary as schools in Ohio and around the country look to improve student achievement.

The cutback was a compromise after legislators decided against Gov. Ted Strickland's more extensive proposal to add 20 more school days over the next 10 years.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Officials in Florida say a veteran 40-year-old trainer at SeaWorld was killed by a whale when she slipped and fell in its tank.

SeaWorld Orlando President Dan Brown says officials are investigating but it appears to be an accident.

He says the trainer was one of the park's most experienced.

Spectator Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience a show they were about to see Wednesday when the whale appeared to grab the trainer and thrash her around.

Brown says SeaWorld has never experienced an incident like this.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Toyota's president is telling a congressional hearing there is no problem with the electronics of Toyota vehicles despite suggestions from some safety experts that there is a connection to unwanted acceleration.

Akio Toyoda told the House oversight committee that he is "absolutely confident" that the electronics of Toyota's gas pedal systems are not the source of problems with a number of Toyota vehicles speeding out of control.

Toyota has recalled some 8 million vehicles over problems with gas pedals lodging on floor mats and pedals that can get stuck. The company has said it has not found evidence that electronics are a factor.

Still, Toyoda said the company is installing brake pedals that can override the gas pedal in case of unintended acceleration.

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- The University of Dayton Flyers face a tough road challenge heading to Philadelphia to face the No. 20/18 Temple Owls tonight 6:30 p.m.

The game can be heard beginning at 6 p.m. with the Bud Light pregame show on AM 1290 and 95.7 FM News Talk Radio WHIO.

Despite an 18-8 overall record, the Flyers head into tonight's contest on a two-game road losing skid. For Dayton to get back on track, the team looks to regain its focus on defense and rebounding. The Flyers rank in the NCAA's Top 40 in rebounding margin (plus-5.9) and scoring defense (61.9 points per game).

UD's Chris and Chris combo (Wright and Johnson) are leading the charge. Wright, who recently became the 42nd player in Flyer history to score 1,000 career points, is averaging 15.6 points per game in conference play. Chris Johnson averages 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds against A-10 opponents. Dayton will be playing against its fourth nationally-ranked team this season and first since Jan. 1, 2010 when the Flyers were at New Mexico.

The Owls (22-5, 10-2 A-10) have won three straight and are looking to keep pace and are currently tied with Xavier for second, one-half game behind conference leader Richmond. Senior guard Ryan Brooks (14.9 ppg.) continues to pace the Owls attack while sophomore guard Juan Fernandez (12.0 ppg.) and junior forward Lavoy Allen (11.4 ppg.) also top double figures in scoring. Fernandez tops the league in three-point percentage (.437, 52-119) while Allen ranks third in the A-10 in rebounding (10.3 rpg.).

The Owls are 11-1 at home this season and lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense allowing a paltry 57.8 points per game.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- State agencies said Ohio traffic deaths fell last year to the lowest level in more than 70 years of record-keeping, continuing a trend of safer roads.

Preliminary numbers released Wednesday show 1,028 people were killed in crashes in 2009, down 14 percent from the 1,191 fatalities in 2008, which had been the previous record low year.

Spokesman Tom Hunter with the Ohio Department of Public Safety says the primary reasons for the decline in deaths include better traffic enforcement, education and engineering. He says a lesser role has been played by a fourth "E" -- the economy, which has led to cutbacks in driving.

The state has been tracking highway fatalities since 1936. The deadliest year was 1969, when 2,778 people were killed on Ohio roads.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio - Fire officials from West Carrollton are investigating reports of a body floating in the Great Miami River.

The fire department received a call about a body in the river near the low dam, near the intersection of Risley Drive and North Alex Road.

West Carrollton Police, Five Rivers Metroparks officials, and the Montgomery County Coroner are all on the scene.

Stay tuned to AM 1290 and 95.7 FM News Talk Radio WHIO for more information as it becomes available.

WEST MILTON, Ohio - A former teacher and coach at Milton-Union High School has been ordered to spend 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to inappropriate conduct with a female student.

Manuel Perez, 43, will also have to surrender his teaching and coaching licenses for five years. He has between now and March 15 to report to the Miami County Jail and serve 10 consecutive days.

Perez, a soccer coach and language arts teacher, was determined to have sent inappropriate text messages to a 17-year-old female at the school, and also of having secret meetings with the teen. He was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The conviction does not requite Perez to register as a sex offender.

LEBANON, Ohio - A section of OH-741 will be closed beginning Monday, March 8 as crews work to repair two bridges, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

OH-741 will be closed from just south of U.S. 42 in Mason to OH-63. ODOT has developed a detour that will take traffic to I-71 to the OH-48 bypass and back to OH-63.

The construction is projected to cost $1.46 million dollars. The road will be closed for approximately 60 days while crews work on the two bridge repairs simultaneously in an effort to have the roadway opened by the time visitors begin heading to Kings Island and Beach Waterpark in Mason for the summer season.

MARYSVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- On complaints from parents, an Ohio school district is barring high school classes from showing PG-13 and R-rated films, such as the Holocaust epic "Schindler's List."

Marysville Superintendent Larry Zimmerman says the moratorium he announced at a school board meeting Monday is at least temporary. Board members want to draft a permanent policy on movie ratings after hearing from more people in the community.

The board meeting drew around 30 parents and students who complained about films that they said included mature content and should not have been shown in Marysville High School classrooms.

They singled out "Schindler's List," the D-Day drama "Saving Private Ryan" and the civil war film "Glory."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

MORAINE, Ohio - It is a community that has been affected greatly by the troubles that have hit auto manufacturers, and now they're getting some help.

Leaders in Moraine met Wednesday morning with White House Auto Recovery Czar Ed Montgomery, who was there to help the community continue to rebound following the closing of the former General Motors plant. GM ceased production at the Moraine facility in December of 2008.

Montgomery told officials that he was not there to tell Moraine what to do or how to do it, but rather to offer suggestions and hear what community leaders have already done to help residents and the town recover. Montgomery told Moraine officials that the community already has a good strategy in place and has a strong foundation that will aid in its success.

According to reports, city leaders have already contacted a handful of companies who might potentially fill the former GM plant. Montgomery, who chairs a group that is designed to help communities affected by auto manufacturers shutting down plants, says that would be the biggest factor in helping Moraine get back on the right track.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Between layoffs and unpaid furloughs, the state of Ohio says they saved nearly$48 million dollars from 2008 to2009, according to a report released on Wednesday.

According to the figures released, the state spent a total of $3.24 billion on payroll in 2009, down from $3.29 billion in 2008. With the slow economy, a large number of workers were forced to accept pay freezes, 10-days a year in unpaid days off, or other concessions to help the state trim its budget.

Another reason for the drop is more attention to overtime pay. State offices spent $517,362 less in overtime pay in 2009, helping to keep payroll costs down.

The employee count for 2009 was 65,781 compared with 68,262 in 2008. Those numbers include full-time employees as well as seasonal workers, part-timers and people who serve on boards and commissions.

Information from the Dayton Daily News was used in this report.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Students and faculty at Springfield High School were placed on lockdown Wednesday as police conducted a drug sweep at the school.

Officers said the school has been having problems with drugs, thus the reason for the sweep. Drug-sniffing dogs led police to a total of 11 lockers, but none of them contained any drugs.

Officials at Springfield High School had told the students that a drug sweep would be happening, but they were not told what day the sweep would occur. It is possible more unannounced sweeps could follow.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A panel considering a new Ohio statue for the U.S. Capitol in Washington has chosen 10 finalists, though there are 11 famous deceased Ohioans on the list.

A committee of lawmakers decided to count aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright as one person. The finalists were announced Tuesday.

Besides the Wright brothers, other possible subjects for the statue include: inventor Thomas Edison; Olympian Jesse Owens; polio vaccine developer Albert Sabin; astronaut Judith Resnik; President

Ulysses S. Grant; abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe; women's suffrage advocate Harriet Taylor Upton; and former congressmen James Ashley and William McCulloch.

The panel plans to set up polling sites this spring so Ohio residents can choose their favorites.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - At a National Governors Meeting in Washington yesterday Governor Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) said he will respond to a letter that State Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) sent him expressing reservations about creating a commuter rail corridor in Ohio.

The Governor wants the State to spend $400 million in federal stimulus money to help launch the new rail service that he believes will put Ohio on track for the future.

Republicans have shown reservations about the plan claiming it is too much too soon and that this money should be used to start businesses and not a costly public service that has no guarantees it will make money.

Strickland was optimistic about the plan and commented on why young Ohioans are so supportive of the measure: "They understand that for a state or a city to move forward there has got to be a willingness to embrace change," Strickland said.

The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this story.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Authorities in Dayton want to step up collections of fines owed by drivers caught on camera cruising through red lights.

The southwest Ohio city says red-light cameras have reduced accidents by 44 percent since first used in 2003. But some $3.7 million in fines -- nearly half of those assessed -- remain unpaid.

The city's cut would be about $1 million. The rest would go to the company that operates the system that records the license plates of offending vehicles. Fines are $85 each.

A collection agency is being used to track down drivers who don't pay, and police could take stronger actions such as putting immobilizing boots on ticket scofflaws' vehicles.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - WHIO Meteorologist Rich Wirdzek says flurries throughout the day and into Thursday could bring some accumulation.

The snowfall is expected to be intermittent and no heavy precipitation like the Miami Valley has seen of late is expected.

Thursday and Friday should also bring some scattered snow showers with little accumulation, Wirdzek said. The weekend should be cloudy and colder.

A low pressure system in Indiana should bring some steadier snow showers throughout the day.

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this story

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A federal judge is allowing shareholders suing insurance giant American International Group to proceed as a single class.

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts of the southern District of New York on Monday granted three Ohio state pension funds and shareholders across the country class-action status against AIG.

The lawsuit filed in 2004 is seeking damages for investors who bought AIG securities between Oct. 28, 1999, and April 1, 2005.

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, the State Teachers Retirement System and the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund are the lead plaintiffs.

Former AIG chief executive officer and board chairman Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and others agreed in August to pay $115 million to settle fraud claims as part of the lawsuit.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press

RANDOLPH COUNTY, Indiana - The Randolph County Sheriff's Office is investigating a body found in a rural part of Indiana about 19 miles north of Richmond.

The body was found by police as they exercised a search warrant at the home of Brian Ellis Hartman. Hartman's son is accused of several break-ins in the area.

The body has yet to be identified and authorities are working hard to find the culprit.

TROTWOOD, Ohio - Darreyl Davis, Mayor of the city of Trotwood, has stepped down as questions are raised about how he spent his time at work and who might have benefitted from his position in the community.

Vice Mayor Joyce Sutton Cameron will be sworn in on March 3 to complete Davis' term in office that ends in 2011.

An Investigation by the Office of the Inspector General criticized Davis for conducting city and personal business while working for the state in the ODOT department.

The investigation also yielded what investigators deemed a "appearance of impropriety" regarding a $5,000 finder's fee a friend received for helping the city land a re-development contract.

The $50,000 contract to The Stonehenge Co. for the first phase of a plan to re-develop the Salem Mall is currently under review by city law director Steve McHugh.

The inspector general forwarded his report to prosecutors in Montgomery and Franklin counties, the city of Columbus and the Ohio Ethics Commission.

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this story

COVINGTON, Ky. -- A psychiatrist in northern Kentucky has been charged with stabbing a woman with a sword in his office.

The Kentucky Enquirer reports that 51-year-old Douglas H. Rank of Cincinnati was charged with first-degree assault after being arrested Sunday night. Kenton County Jail records listed Rank as still in custody Tuesday on $50,000 bond.

Police were called to Rank's office about 7:45 p.m. Police spokesman Spike Jones says officers found a 32-year-old woman with stab wounds to the chest. The woman was taken to University Hospital with serious injuries.

Jones says the relationship between Rank and the woman was unclear, but police recovered the sword they believe was used in the attack.

LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- General Motors Corp. says it is bringing 1,200 autoworkers back to work this summer to start producing the Chevrolet Cruze at a plant in northeast Ohio.

GM's head of manufacturing, Diana Tremblay, said Tuesday the company plans to add a third assembly-line shift in the third quarter at the Lordstown plant, 50 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Tremblay says about 300 laid-off GM workers in the area will be brought back first, and the remaining jobs will be open to GM employees across the U.S.

The Cruze, due out later this year, is a key product for GM as it tries to compete in the growing market for small cars.

Production was recently put on hold because GM wasn't happy with how it drove.

The Lordstown factory also makes the Chevrolet Cobalt small car.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - The latest fire at 46 Rockwood Ave. drew emergency crews and television reporters since it was the thirds fire set at that address.

Emergency crews arrived on scene at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning to find a man who is now behind bars talking to television reporters who had showed up to cover the event.

Assistant Fire Chief Michael Caudill said Braxton Gilkey, 22, was arrested by police at the early Tuesday morning fire scene shortly after giving an interview to a television news crew.

Steve Bennish of the Dayton Daily News spoke with Chief Caudill about the suspect and the recent fires.

"He wasn't shy," Caudill said, "It's been a heavy area for us."

Gilkey was arrested on suspicion of arson. Investigation continues into fires at the now destroyed vacant house, Caudill said.  

Firefighter spent five hours fighting the blaze that engulfed the entire building.

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this story.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon has moved to lift a decades-old policy that prohibits women from serving aboard Navy submarines, part of a gradual reconsideration of women's roles in a military fighting two wars whose front lines can be anywhere.

At issue is the end of a policy that kept women from serving aboard the last type of ship off-limits to them. The thinking was that the close quarters aboard subs would make coed service difficult to manage.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified Congress in a letter signed Friday that the Navy intends to repeal the ban on women sailors on subs. Congress has 30 days to weigh in.

"He supports the Navy's efforts to change their policy, "Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.

A defense official told The Associated Press that numerous physical changes to submarines would have to be made, but that cadets who graduate from the Naval Academy this year could be among the first Navy women to take submarine posts.

The Navy's plan would phase in women's service, beginning with officers aboard the larger subs that are easier to retrofit for coed quarters.

Because of the length of time required for training, it would be more than a year before the first women joined subs, assuming Congress raises no major objections that slow the schedule.

Women began serving aboard the Navy's surface ships in 1993. Since then, many of the distinctions between who is combat and who is not have been erased.

Women are formally banned from combat posts in the Army, for instance, but routinely serve in jobs such as medics, pilots and drivers that place them shoulder to shoulder with men serving in "combat" jobs.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told Congress on Tuesday that he supports a reconsideration of women's combat roles.

"I believe it's time that we take a look at what women are actually doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. And then we take a look at our policies," Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

While no organized effort is under way, "I think it's time," he added.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio - The Beavercreek Fire Department acted quickly to extinguish a Nissan Pathfinder that caught fire at the Marathon gas station on Col. Glenn Highway today.

The fire spread from the car to the front of the building expediting the evacuation of those inside.

Logan Hess of the Dayton Daily News spoke with Beavercreek Fire Chief Greg Connors about the fire.
"This is a very rare, but very dangerous situation," said Connors. "The car is completely burned up and there is minor damage to the building. There were no injuries; the crew did a good job."

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this story

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sources close to the former Vice President Dick Cheney say there was "evidence of a mild heart attack" after doctors reviewed test results Tuesday.

Cheney was taken to George Washington University after he felt chest pains. With a history of heart problems the outspoken conservative has survived 5 heart attacks including this one.

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. The statement from Cheney's office did not say whether he needed to have an angioplasty, a procedure to clear a blockage.

Cheney, who is 69, has maintained a high profile since leaving office. He's offered regular criticism of the Obama administration.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

RIVERSIDE, Ohio -- A proposed plan to allow ex-felons to farm a piece of land in Riverside got the thumbs down from some residents.

It happened at a hearing last night.

Howard Solganik, the man in charge of the group called "Trans Plant," said the group wants to farm a plot of land on Brandt Pike that would grow produce and sell it locally.

That proposal brought a negative reaction from some residents in attendance.

The group says it will now look for other areas for the ex-felon farming project.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Sentencing continues today for a ex-Dayton City Schools employee convicted a killing a mentally handicapped man.

Derek Byrd, 43, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and should find out his sentence today.

Byrd, employed for 13 years as a custodian for Dayton schools, beat to death Donnray Dixon, 25, in July, 2008.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A Dayton man is stabbed in the back overnight.

It happened last night on North Harbine.

Cops say they are not sure whether the 33-year-old victim was stabbed with a screwdriver or a knife.

Investigators plan to question witnesses this morning. There have been no arrests.

The victim is expected to be okay.

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It's a little like the movie Ground Hog Day.

Yogi Berra said it was "deja vu all over again."

For Huber Heights City Council, it was booting the same fellow member of council for a second time in less than a year.

Brian Walton, currently in Iraq as a military contractor, was ousted for missing too many meetings.

The city charter states a council member's absence from three consecutive meetings is grounds for removal.

Walton was originally appointed to the board as the replacement for Seth Morgan but was ousted last summer. Walton won the seat back in the November election.

FAIRBORN, Ohio -- One person is dead following a two-vehicle crash in Fairborn.

It happened on Broad Street near Sandhill Road.

Andrea Johnson, 61, of Fairborn, was killed when her car went left of center trying to avoid crashing with another car when she hit an SUV head-on.

The SUV driver was treated and released and is not facing any charges.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Firefighters have spent the overnight hours battling a house fire in Dayton's Five Oaks neighborhood near Grandview Hospital.

Investigators say they think the blaze at the two-story on Rockwood Avenue is arson and have brought one person in for questioning.

The area has seen a rash of arson fires recently.

The call came in just after midnight to the house, which was already slated for demolition.

Crews then pretty much let the house burn to the ground, making sure the flames did not reach neighboring homes.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Toyota's president says he is changing the way the automaker does business as he addresses the safety problems that have led to the recall of 8.5 million vehicles.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota's founder, discussed the overhaul in an opinion piece posted late Monday on The Wall Street Journal's Web site.

Citing his heritage, Toyoda wrote that the past few months have been humbling and painful. He acknowledged Toyota didn't respond quickly enough to reports about vehicle defects and vowed to impose tougher quality controls.

Toyota's handling of its recent safety issues is now the subject of a U.S. criminal investigation.

Toyoda is expected to be grilled by U.S. lawmakers Wednesday when he is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Doctors are evaluating former vice president Dick Cheney's heart after he experienced chest pains Monday.

An assistant says Cheney is resting comfortably at George Washington University Hospital. It's in Washington.

Cheney has a history of heart problems, including four heart attacks starting at age 37. He has also undergone bypass surgery, angioplasties to clear narrowed arteries and electric shocks to restore normal heart rhythm..

Cheney, who is 69, has maintained a high profile since leaving office. He's offered regular criticism of the Obama administration.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- The Clark County Sheriff's Office says operating the county jail cost more than $6 million last year, first time it has hit that mark.

Springfield News-Sun reporter Valerie Lough reports the 2009 cost, $6.1 million, is a 36 percent increase over 1999.

Officials say inflation and the rising cost of staff salaries and benefits are reasons for the increase.

Personnel costs for the jail in 2009 amounted to $4,699,960 -- 76 percent of the jail's budget.

(Information from the Springfield News-Sun)

NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market has ended an erratic session with a modest loss after big consumer companies gave a cautious outlook for economic growth.

The market fluctuated Monday after Lowe's Cos. and Campbell Soup Co. reported higher earnings but reminded investors that a recovery among consumers is expected to be slow. The caution in the market was evident as the major indexes gave up a modest gain and turned lower in late trading.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrials are down 18, or 0.2 percent, at 10,383. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down, or 0.1 percent, at 1,108. And the Nasdaq composite index is off 1, or 0.1 percent, at 2,242.

Winning and losing stocks are almost even on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 944 million shares.

HAMILTON, Ohio -- He was found guilty of killing his infant daughter and now Vincent Blanda knows his fate.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lauren Pack reports Blanda has been sentenced today to 23-years-to-life in prison for the death of his 5-month-old daughter Brooklyn in March of 2008.

The judge said Blanda has shown no remorse for his actions and blamed others for his daughter's death.

Blanda was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murder, eight years in prison for felony child endangering and an additional six months for domestic violence that will be served consecutive to the child endangering charge.

Brooklyn died after suffering inner-cranial hemorrhage while in his care.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eight Democratic senators from industrial states are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate pollution blamed for global warming.

In a letter written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the lawmakers said the agency lacks the power to restrict greenhouse gases. Their opposition could pose a blow to the Obama administration's anti-pollution efforts.

The letter was signed by Democrats Mark Begich of Alaska, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Carl Levin of Michigan and Max Baucus of Montana.

Last month, three Democrats signed onto a similar Senate resolution that would bar the EPA from issuing regulations to control greenhouse gases.

MORAINE, Ohio -- A major White House official heads to Moraine Wednesday.

Ed Montgomery, the executive director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers, will be talking with ex-GM workers and city leaders.

The main topic will be the closure of the GM plant and it's affect on the community.

That meeting will look also Moraine's attempts to bring new industry to the longtime GM site.

The plant was a major area employer dating back to it's days as a Frigidaire plant prior to becoming a vehicle assembly facility for trucks and SUV's.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has offered its top job to the airport director here in Dayton.

Iftikhar Ahmad is credited with overseeing major construction projects and restoring international air service to the Dayton airport.

New Orleans Aviation Board Chairman Dan Packer says financial management is one of Ahmad's strong points. He says Ahmad also has held key administrative positions at Nashville and Houston airports.

Ahmad was chosen Monday from four finalists and 50 applicants. Packer says he must still negotiate a contract with Ahmad.

New Orleans' former airport director, Sean Hunter, resigned in September amid a federal investigation of possible insurance fraud by his wife.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The family of a baby sitter who was raped has left Ohio.

Our sister station News Center 7 says the family was scared the rapist would return to kill them that they immediately moved.

Investigators believe the rape of the 12-year-old was part of some revenge against a family friend for an earlier car crash that left someone paralyzed.

The rape occurred in a home on West Riverview. The girl was taking care of a 4-year-old and a 10-year-old.

The perp also choked that 10-year-old boy.

Cops say the suspect is a black male, but that's about all they know about him.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Terrorism suspect Najibullah Zazi has pleaded guilty in New York City to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

The 25-year-old former Denver airport shuttle driver also pleaded guilty Monday to counts of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support for a terrorist organization.

He faces a life prison sentence without parole in the plea deal.

He was arrested in the fall after arousing authorities' suspicions by driving cross-country from Denver to New York around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Authorities say he received al-Qaida training in Pakistan, bought beauty supplies in Colorado and tried to use them to cook up homemade bombs in a Colorado hotel room.

KETTERING, Ohio -- A broken light fixture starts a smoky fire at the Kettering Medical Center around noon today.

The fire happened on the third floor of a physicians building on the KMC campus. There were some evacuations.

Firefighters were able to quickly put out the blaze.

There were no injuries.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes has agreed to return to the Cincinnati Reds.

General manager Walt Jocketty said Monday that the 29-year-old Gomes had agreed to a deal, which will become official if he passes a physical. Gomes arrived at the team's spring training complex on Monday.

Gomes appeared in 98 games for the Reds last season, batting .267 with 20 homers and 51 runs batted in. He started 33 games in left field, 33 in right and nine as a designated hitter during interleague play.

The Reds declined to offer him salary arbitration last December, making him a free agent. Gomes has been talking to the Reds about a deal over the winter.

DAYTON, Ohio - In a down economy, good deals are a must. But those deals never last long, including the one that ends today for anyone in need of a haircut.

Great Clips, with multiple locations in the Miami Valley, is currently offering haircuts for just $4.99. The promotion has been ongoing for a few days, but will expire at the end of business on Monday, February 22.

Haircuts at the salon are generally $13 for adults and $10 for kids, making this a great bargain. The $4.99 deal applies to a haircut for a person of any age group.

Great Clips hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with salons in Kettering, Centerville, Beavercreek, Englewood, Huber Heights, and Troy, among others.

MONROE, Ohio - A man has reportedly escaped from the Ultra Diamonds outlet store at the Cincinnati Premium Outlets in Monroe with a diamond ring worth over $16 thousand on Friday.

According to police, a black man more than 6 feet tall reached into a jewelry case and snatched the ring while being helped by a store employee. The man then fled the store before employees could try to stop him.

The suspect was wearing a dark jacket, scarf, and hat, according to witnesses. Police say the man weighs around 275 pounds.

The ring itself is described as a 2.5 carat princess cut diamond, with yellow and white diamonds set into a 14-carat white gold band. Actual value of the ring is $16,329.

DAYTON, Ohio - It's a wicked price for a "Wicked" show.

The Broadway hit musical "Wicked" is currently playing at the Schuster Center until March 7, and some ticket prices have soared well beyond face-value. According to the online retailer "Ticket Liquidator," prices for a ticket to see the show in downtown Dayton START at $364, and range as high as $550.

The official face-value cost of a ticket to the show at the Schuster Center itself is $46-$125.

The high range for tickets in Dayton far surpasses the cost of a ticket in other cities, including on Broadway itself. The average range for a ticket in New York is $151-$233.

"Wicked" has been rated the number one event nationally by ticketnews.com.

Officials at the Schuster Center say that despite not having a reported "sell-out" as of yet, ticket sales are still going "very well."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- As oil prices rise, Ohio gasoline prices are saying goodbye to last week's lowest levels of 2010.

The current survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express puts the statewide average for regular-grade gasoline at about $2.54 per gallon, up 8 cents from last Monday's average of $2.46.

During the middle of last week, prices fell below $2.40 at some Ohio service stations. However, energy traders are now pushing fuel prices higher on worries that a refinery strike in France and tensions in the Middle East could tighten supplies. Crude oil has risen to the neighborhood of $80.

One year ago, Ohio gas prices were averaging a much cheaper $1.83 for regular.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - There might still be snow on the ground in Dayton, Ohio, but that didn't stop the University of Dayton baseball team from beginning its 2010 season over the weekend.

The Flyers ventured south to play in the Wake Forest Invitational at Gene Hooks Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Flyers got off to a shaky start, losing to Army 14-6 on Friday and to Wake Forest 7-5 on Saturday. They responded, however, with a 19-10 basking of the host Demon Deacons on Sunday for their first win of the season.

Junior third baseman Jimmy Roesinger picked up right where he left off last season, going 10-15 with 2 doubles, a home run, and 7 runs batted in on the weekend. He led the Flyers and the Atlantic-10 with a .401 batting average last season.

Senior second baseman Zach Jacob also got off to a hot start, slamming three homers and also driving in 7 on the weekend, while senior right hander Chris Beesley picked up the lone win for Dayton.

The Flyers resume their season Friday afternoon in Spartanburg, South Carolina against the Wofford Terriers. It will be the first game on an eight game road trip that will span four different locales over a ten-day period.

Dayton's first home game is scheduled for March 12 against Indiana State at Time Warner Cable Stadium.

DAYTON, Ohio - Police say a woman who was pregnant with child jumped from a second story-window early Monday morning.

Officers responded to a home at 221 Ryburn Avenue in Dayton just before 7 a.m. Cops said the 25-year-old woman may have been trying to avoid being served an arrest warrant when she attempted to flee the residence by jumping out of the window.

The woman was not seriously injured, but was taken to the Berry Women's Health Pavilion at Miami Valley Hospital for examination. Officials said the move was a precaution to ensure the health of the unborn baby.

Officers are still investigating if the woman had any outstanding citations for which she may have been wanted.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Newly released Ohio Department of Health figures show the state has spent $3.2 million to impose $1.2 million in fines on violators of Ohio's smoking ban.

Republican state Sen. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati says the state's $2 million net cost of enforcing the law is money that would be better spent on education, health care or other programs. The health department provided the numbers on a request from Seitz, a critic of the ban and a smoker himself.

Department indoor environment chief Mandy Burkett says the price tag is not unreasonable and says the state will eventually see savings in other areas, including health care costs.

Voters approved the statewide ban on smoking in indoor public places in 2006 and enforcement began the following May.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- The investigation into the death of a Clark County man leads to the discovery of at least one live grenade Saturday.

The Dayton Bomb squad was called out to the home at 12225 Rhonda Drive in Bethel Township.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lawrence Budd reports deputies were called to the home, in McMahan's Fairway Terrace mobile home park, for a welfare check requested by a family member.

When no one answered the door, deputies forced their way into the home and found the dead man, grenade and firearms, according to reports.

XENIA TWP., Ohio -- A gas line ruptured outside a Xenia Township church Sunday night.

Close to 100 members of the Dayton Avenue Baptists Church were evacuated around 6 p.m.

The church pastor says he smelled what he thought was natural gas and got people out of the building.

Fire crews ventilated the building and say it will be safe for workers to return on Monday.

Melting snow on the roof apparently caused a massive ice block to fall onto the valve of that gas line, breaking it off.

CELINA, Ohio -- One man is killed in a Celina industrial accident.

It happened yesterday afternoon at Celina Aluminum Precision Technology in the 700 block of Staeger Road.

Dead is Mark A. Fennig, 58, of Van Wert.

Investigators are not sure how Fennig, a maintenance tech, got tangled as he worked on a water passage machine.

Fennig was taken to a St. Mary's hospital where he was pronounced dead.

OSHA is expected to join the investigation.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Space shuttle Endeavour is reported to be in good shape after arriving on Earth in a rare nighttime landing.

The shuttle and its six astronauts returned safely Sunday, despite forecasts that rain and clouds would likely get in the way of touchdown attempts. But the rain stayed away and the sky cleared just in time.

During their two-week trip, the astronauts delivered and installed a new space station room with a huge bay window that offers sweeping views of the Earth.

At least one of the space station residents watched Endeavour's atmospheric re-entry from the new dome and Tweeted that the "view was definitely out-of-the-world."

Shuttle pilot Terry Virts says it's going to take time to digest all the crew accomplished in its journey that spanned 5.7 million miles. The next shuttle mission is scheduled for early April.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- A former suburban Dayton police officer who killed himself after he was indicted in an Ohio cold case was being eyed for at least one other killing.

Records show that Tommy Swint's DNA was tested, but did not match, evidence taken from the slaying of a prostitute. Swint shot himself in the head at his Phenix City, Ala., home on Feb. 3, an hour after his indictment in the 1991 Dayton-area murder of another prostitute, Tina Marie Ivery.

University of Dayton's Director of Criminal Justice Studies Art Jipson says investigators should continue to look at unsolved homicides where Swint lived and worked.

Swint had been sworn in as a Trotwood officer in 2007, but resigned six weeks later after police in Richmond, Ind., told Trotwood officials that he was a suspect in the disappearance of former co-worker.

MASON, Ohio (AP) -- A park spokesman says 2,335 people turned out for a job fair at Kings Island Amusement Park, the largest one-day turnout for a job fair in the 38-year history of the park near Cincinnati.

The job fair that started Saturday and continued on Sunday was organized to hire about 4,000 employees for the park season that begins April 17. Organizers say more than 10,000 people have applied for the open positions.

Several had interviews and some were offered jobs on the spot, though most decisions won't be made until next week.

Spokesman Don Helbig says there is a lot of competition for the open slots.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Some residents at a Springfield apartment complex are fed up with the bedbug problem there.

The bugs have been infesting Cole Manor Apartments since the summer. The Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority has tried to eradicate them but the bedbugs are winning the war.

Now residents are getting involved in the fight. They have been meeting to discuss how they can help. One of the ways they have come up with is to educate their neighbors on how to help prevent the bedbugs from spreading.

GREENUP, Kentucky -- A damaged gate has been repaired and placed back in its chamber at the Greenup Locks and Dam on the Ohio River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says in a statement that the gate was lifted back into place Friday, but it will take more than a week for crews to complete repairs, reattach the gate and conduct inspections. When those tasks are complete, the main lock chamber will reopen to river traffic.

The chamber has been closed since Jan. 27 when an anchorage that supports one of the gates broke. Traffic has been locking through the auxiliary chamber since then.

The site on the river between Greenup County, Ky., and Lawrence County, Ohio, is about 24 miles downstream from Huntington, W.Va.

KETTERING, Ohio - Kettering police say four teens "tagged" more than 20 vehicles and buildings around the city.

Authorities arrested the teens, aged between 14 and 15 years old, on Thursday for spray painting offensive and insulting monikers on private property.

After causing over $20,000 in damage police were able to identify the teens using surveillance cameras located on the property.

ATHENS, Ohio  -- Ohio University says a student has died of complications from bacterial meningitis, and the school is now making antibiotics available to students who want them.

Eighteen-year-old freshman Andrea Robinson of Cleveland Heights died Wednesday night at a Columbus hospital. She was the third student to get infected with the disease during the current school year; two male students have recovered.

The university in Athens in southeast Ohio says it has thoroughly cleaned Robinson's dorm room and common areas in the building. It has offered students the antibiotic Cipro, though officials also are noting that bacterial meningitis does not spread easily.

In honor of Robinson, the school is flying a green university flag outside the administration building.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Bureau of Investigation has closed a 7 year investigation into the 2001 anthrax mailings and concluded they were carried out by a Lebanon man.

Letters containing the toxin Anthrax were mailed out to politicians and news organizations amid the post September 11, 2001 chaos.

The FBI concluded the Dr. Bruce Ivins acted alone in sending the letters before killing himself when his indictment for the crime became assured.

The U.S. government suspected that Ivins was responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks which killed five people, infected 17 others and put an already nervous population on edge just days after the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Authorities had been on the verge of closing the case last year but government lawyers decided to conduct a further review of what evidence could be shared with the public since some of the testimonies were given under confidential circumstances.

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this article

DAYTON, Ohio -- An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to killing a young mother and kidnapping her 4-year-old son, who was found wandering at a highway rest stop just over a year ago.

Charlie Myers pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated murder and other charges in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

A Dayton judge sentenced Myers to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Investigators say Myers didn't know the 29-year-old woman who was killed, but say he had stolen a car belonging to the victim's family in the weeks before her death.

Prosecutors said he went to the family's home and planned to rob it. They say he tied up the woman and then shot her after she broke free.

Travelers found her son at the rest stop and called police.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio -- Two suspects are arrested for a 2009 Dayton murder.

Matthew Turner and Brian Dewitt are accused of killing 32-year-old Benjamin Gulley in a Wilmington Avenue apartment.

Cops say Gulley was staying with a friend when a robbery went bad and he was caught in the crossfire.

Police were tipped when the men reportedly began bragging about the murder. After more evidence was obtained, the arrests were made.

A third suspect is still being sought.

MONROE, Ohio -- An overnight drug bust in Monroe puts one man in jail.

John Linville, 20, was arrested at the Parkside Inn as the culmination of a month long investigation.

Cops found heroin, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and money.

Linville is facing three charges, two of them felonies.

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- A Springfield man was arrested after cops say he stole a sport utility vehicle and then crashed while he was drunk.

Springfield News-Sun reporter Matt Sanctis reports James McKinster, 25, of 425 N. Jackson Drive, was arrested on charges of domestic violence, violation of a temporary protection order and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

A woman said McKinster asked her for the keys to her vehicle and an argument ensued. McKinster is accused of hitting the woman in the face and taking the keys to the vehicle.

The sheriff's office says McKinster was driving the vehicle when he crashed in the 3300 block of St. Paris Pike at 12:30 a.m. Deputies also discovered he was wanted on several additional outstanding warrants.

(Information from the Springfield News-Sun)

DAYTON, Ohio -- Three women are nabbed for soliciting prostitution at a Dayton hotel.

Cops say they advertised their services on Craigslist.

The Wilmington women allegedly took money from undercover cops to perform what were termed "fantasy shows."

Kayla Gill, 19, and Deanna Swearingen, 28, were arrested for soliciting prostitution. Another woman, Chandra Sullivan, 26, was picked up outside, according to police reports.

TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota's president says he will speak sincerely to the U.S. Congress and the American people about his company's efforts to resolve safety problems behind massive recalls.

Akio Toyoda said Friday that he'll be happy to appear before a congressional hearing next week after being formally invited to attend.

He said he hopes to win understanding of Toyota's commitment to resolving questions involving gas pedals, accelerators getting jammed in floor mats and brakes on various vehicles.

Japan's transport minister, Seiji Maehara, welcomed the decision, saying it is important for Toyota to take its responsibility.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- It's not a comeback yet and it won't last long, but the public is eager to hear what Tiger Woods has to say today.

After being out of sight for almost three months, golf's biggest star is to make his first public appearance since he crashed his SUV on Nov. 27, setting off a shocking and sordid sex scandal.

Woods will speak to a small group of "friends, colleagues and close associates" at Florida's TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour. Just one video camera will broadcast the event, there will be no questions and when he's done, he's gone.

A letter from the PGA Tour commissioner obtained by The Associated Press says Woods will return to therapy after he speaks out.

Some golf pros think the appearance detracts from this week's Match Play Championship, sponsored by Accenture, the first company to drop Woods as a pitchman.

LIBERTY, Ohio  -- Authorities in Ohio say they found a dismembered body inside a house with three dogs, which had been eating the remains.

A dog warden says body parts were "all over the place."

Liberty Towship Police Chief Richard Tisone says the dogs were vicious and kept officers from entering the home Tuesday evening, so they had to shoot two of the animals.

Tisone says police had gone to the house outside Youngstown in northeast Ohio after neighbors reported they hadn't seen the man who lived there for weeks.

A coroner is trying to reconstruct the body and is using dental records to make an identification. The police chief says how the victim died is unclear.

Police shot a Rottweiler and another large dog. The third, a pit bull mix, was captured.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A federal judge in Ohio has ordered a mental evaluation for a former doctor charged with possessing dozens of pipe bombs in his apartment.

Fifty-six-year-old Mark Campano of Cuyahoga Falls was injured when two explosions rocked his apartment in November. He's charged with having about 37 unregistered pipe bombs.

Judge Donald Nugent in Cleveland on Thursday ordered the mental health evaluation, which was requested by Campano's defense attorney. Campano has pleaded not guilty.

Medical board records show Campano, a former anesthesiologist who has practiced in Ohio and West Virginia, has a history of substance abuse dating to 1987. His Ohio medical license was revoked in 2006.

His mother says her son didn't intend to harm anyone and detonated the devices in remote areas as a hobby.

DAYTON, Ohio - Twin Valley hospital closed in June of 2008 but it may be renovated re-opened if a private healthcare firm has its way.

If approved by state lawmakers, the $1.7 million sale to Amamata LLC of New Albany, Ohio, would create 150 jobs, state mental health director Sandra Stephenson said in a news release.

Though Dayton City Schools are building the new Belmont school on the Twin Valley campus administrators believe there will not be any problems with having a mental health facility so close to the school.

It does not affect us at all," said chief construction officer John Carr who spoke with Dayton Daily News reporter Anthony Gottschlich. He notes that there's a "substantial" distance between the school site and the hospital, plus a street, parking lot, landscaping and other buffers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A federal court has struck down an Ohio law that has required former state lawmakers to wait a year before lobbying their old colleagues.

The decision from the U.S. District Court for southern Ohio is a victory for former state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican who left the Legislature at the end of 2008. He brought a lawsuit when he wanted to immediately start lobbying on behalf of an anti-tax group he founded but was barred from doing so under the law.

In Wednesday's ruling, district court Chief Judge Susan Dlott writes that the state failed to show the one-year waiting period addressed its concerns about corruption.

Brinkman says winning the case is "a great feeling." State officials say they're reviewing the ruling.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.

XENIA, Ohio - Malak Deek has been found guilty Thursday, Feb. 18 of child endangerment in connection with the death of her 2 year old daughter Juliana Berry.

Deek was also found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter though her live in boyfriend, Brian LaPrairie, pleaded guilty to that count in December for abusing the child and causing her death. He is currently serving a 22-year sentence for the crime.

Medics were called to the Fairborn home at 233 Pat Lane that Deek, LaPrairie and Juliana shared Dec. 27 because the child was unresponsive. She was rushed to Children's Medical Center in Dayton where she lived in a coma for two days before life support was removed.

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this article

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is backing a startup company that would build trains to run on President Barack Obama's high-speed rail network, challenging international manufacturers that dominate the market.

Icahn's American Railcar Industries Inc. said Thursday it has formed a joint venture with US Railcar LLC, a Columbus, Ohio-based company that aims to re-establish passenger train manufacturing in

the United States.

Production would be based in Arkansas, where American Railcar has two freight car factories. Icahn Enterprises LP has a 54 percent stake of American Railcar, based in St. Charles, Mo.

The Obama administration in January awarded $8 billion in stimulus cash awarded to 13 high-speed rail corridors across the country.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.

AUSTIN, Texas - A software engineer who was angry with the Internal Revenue Service crashed his personal plane into an office building containing 200 federal IRS employees Thursday.

Joseph Stack, the alleged perpetrator, posted a manifesto describing the various tax problems that led him to commit this act of violence.

In the letter he describes his views on the "handful of thugs and plunderers" that receive big bailouts and how "they just steal from the middle class."

So far only one employee is unaccounted for and two have received medical treatment, but while authorities continue to extinguish the flames the traumatic events of today may remain in the victim's minds forever.

Stacks home was also ablaze, a fire authorities think he set before leaving on his final flight.

His final words speak of his mettle:

"I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different.  I am finally ready to stop this insanity.  Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well."

DAYTON, Ohio -- He's doing a good job so why rush him out the door?

That's the thinking of Dayton City Commission on Interim City Manager Tim Riordan.

He was hired on a temporary basis in October, saying he did not want the job for long.

So far, the commission has not started looking for someone to fill the post permanently.

Riordan replaced Rashad Young, who took off for North Carolina.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Transportation Department official says the department plans to open a formal investigation into the 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla over potential problems with the car's power steering.

The preliminary investigation is expected to be opened on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the department had not yet notified Toyota of the probe.

Toyota Motor Corp. said earlier Wednesday it was looking into complaints of power steering problems with the Corolla and was considering a recall. Toyota said there have been fewer than 100 complaints.

Drivers have complained they feel they were losing control over the steering, particularly at highway speeds. Toyota sold nearly 300,000 Corollas in the United States last year.

RIVERSIDE, Ohio -- Here's the latest scoop if your pooch poops on public or someone else's private property.

Yep, you'd better scoop.

Several cities around the area already have pooper scooper laws.

In Huber Heights, the fine up to $500 if you don't collect Rex's residue in a park.

Dayton Daily News reporter Margo Rutledge Kissell says Riverside council is now considering such a law.

It gets its second reading tonight. The fine would top out at $150.

Other municipalities that have pooper scooper laws include Beavercreek, WEnglewood, Kettering, Miamisburg and Troy.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- Three people were injured, one seriously, in a two car crash in Harrison Township last night.

It happened in the 2500 block of Needmore Road.

A westbound van tried to turn left into a parking lot when it was hit by an eastbound pickup truck.

One person was taken the hospital with serious injuries while two others had non-life threatening injuries.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's office is investigating.

MIAMISBURG, Ohio -- Miamisburg joins the growing list of those looking for more money on the May 4th ballot.

City council decided to put a 0.5 percent income tax increase before the voters.

The city's now has a 1.75 percent income tax

Income taxes are paid to Miamisburg by people who earn wages within city limits.

Traditional retirement income, such as Social Security, pensions, investments and interest is not taxable by the city so senior citizens and those on fixed incomes would not be affected.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

PIQUA, Ohio -- There's an old saying about not bringing a knife to a gun fight.

The same could be said of a snowball fight, as evidenced by a Miami County stabbing.

Piqua cops say one teen stabbed another during the winter weather frolic in the 500 block of Weber Street.

Police reports say Shawn Sayer, 18, of Piqua was stabbed with a pocket knife and is now listed in fair condition at Miami Valley Hospital.

A 14-year-old was charged with felonious assault.

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- A man found dead outside a Clark County home has been identified.

WHIO Radio Springfield Bureau Chief Darryl Bauer reports the body was found last night in the 6700 block of Selma Pike.

Christopher Haddix, 57, was taking fuel to a home nearby when he somehow severely cut his arm, losing a lot of blood.

The Clark County Sheriff's office is investigating.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Those red light cameras around Dayton will be adding speed to their repertoire in the not too distant future.

Dayton city commission okayed the upgrading of the cameras to enforce speed laws and add even more cameras..

The proposal was backed by Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl.

Biehl says they'll focus on high crash areas.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Those "red light" cameras at some Dayton intersections could become speed detectors as well, pending a vote tonight by the city commission.

There are currently ten red light cameras around the city, They would need to be adapted with speed enforcement technology.

Those caught by the cameras going too fast could be fined $85.

Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl is for the plan.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market has extended its advance to a second day after Deere & Co.'s earnings beat expectations and the government issued an upbeat housing report.

The Commerce Department has reported Wednesday that construction of homes and apartments rose to an annual rate of 591,000 in January. That's ahead of forecasts.

Deere's fiscal first-quarter profit has topped expectations. The maker of heavy equipment is increasing its full-year forecast.

The Dow is up 40 at 10,309, a day after jumping 170. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 4 at 1,099. The Nasdaq composite index is up 12 at 2,226.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1 billion shares, compared with 1.1 billion Wednesday.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A woman is arrested for murder in the strange death of William "Bill" Cheeks.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lucas Sullivan reports that Veronica Spears, 45, admitted she hit Cheeks with a pipe then dropped the 68-year-old Cheeks at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was transferred to Miami Valley Hospital where he died two days later of blunt force trauma.

Spears is now in the Montgomery County Jail though she has not been formally charged..

Dayton cops searched Spears' apartment on Tuttle Avenue this morning.

While admitting to hitting Cheeks, Spears says she did not cause his death.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

ATLANTA, Georgia -- The fed's investigation into Rev. Raleigh Trammell and the Dayton chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has FBI agents at the national SCLC headquarters in Atlanta.

In a story by Dayton Daily News reporter Lynn Hulsey, National SCLC member Art Rocker said he and two other national SCLC officials met with agents from Ohio and Georgia, along with Fulton County, Ga. officials.

Rocker said he was asked about Trammell and the SCLC's use of federal funds in Ohio, along with allegations that Trammell and National SCLC Treasurer Spiver Gordon embezzled $569,000 from the civil rights group.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

KETTERING, Ohio -- It's namesake no longer exists and some would like a Kettering park's name changed to honor veterans.

Dayton Daily News reporter Kelli Wynn reports that former Kettering councilman Vince Chalecki, along with Jim Snyder of the Korean Veterans Memorial Association Inc. are pushing for the name change.

They plan to make a formal request to the city.

Officials say the proposal to change the name of the park to the Kettering Veterans Park could be on the city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts advisory board could be discussed at an April 8th board meeting.

The parks board will make a recommendation to city council on whether or not the park's name should be changed.

For information about the meeting and park's future name, call at (937) 296-2486.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

DAYTON, Ohio -- A masked man invades a Dayton home, raping a 12-year-old girl.

This happened Saturday at a residence on West Riverview.

The mask-wearing perp got into the home through an unlocked door, pulling the girl from her bed.

She was baby-sitting two younger children.

Cops say the incident was revenge for an earlier incident. They believe he is driving a red Pontiac Grand Prix.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State Sen. Jon Husted wants his stay in the Ohio State Senate to be a short one.

Today, he filed petitions for a run as the state's Secretary of State.

He actually announced his plans to run last year.

Husted represents the 6th Senate District after being term-limited out of a seat in the Ohio House, where he served as speaker.

DAYTON, Ohio -- As we first told you this morning on Miami Valley's Morning News, a school bus and passenger car crash in Dayton.

It happened on Salem north of Philadelphia.

Two of the 15 kids on the bus, as well as the driver of the car, suffered minor suffered injuries.

Reportedly, the bus driver was not able to stop on the slick roadway but rammed the back of the car.

Cops say the bus driver will probably be cited.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Federal officials say the final two defendants have pleaded guilty in a drug trafficking operation involving big shipments of cocaine and marijuana over more than a decade.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday that 45-year-old Daniel Walls and 51-year-old Mark May pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to possess and sell hundreds of pounds of marijuana.

Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, says the two men are the last of 38 defendants that ran an alleged cocaine and marijuana ring in south-central Ohio dating back to 1997.

The investigation began with the seizure of 400 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in 2004 in Preble County.

Walls and May face up to 40 years in prison.

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) -- Tiger Woods will speak to the media Friday for the first time since revelations about his infidelity, his agent says.

Woods is to speak Friday morning from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass, headquarters of the PGA Tour in Florida.

The news conference will occur during the middle of the Accenture Match Play Championship, one of the sponsors that dropped him during his sex scandal.

Woods' agent says the media will be limited.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The coroner's office rules the death of a Dayton man a homicide.

The report says 68-year-old Bill Cheeks died from complications from blunt force trauma to the head.

He was dropped at Good Samaritan Hospital by a woman he lived with before being transferred to Miami Valley Hospital.

Cops aren't saying if they have any suspects in Cheeks' beating.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Motorists around the Miami Valley and the state are getting a break at the pump, as gasoline prices have dropped to a new low for 2010.

The lowest price around the area is $2.25 a gallon at the Sam's Club on Miller Lane in Butler Township.

Retail gasoline prices hit a nationwide average of $2.61 per gallon yesterday and fell below $2.40 at some service stations in Ohio, Oklahoma and Missouri, according to Triple-A and its survey partners.

The auto club says today's Ohio average is $2.44 for a gallon of regular, down 10 cents from last week.

Gas prices nationwide are now 16 cents below their mid-January peak, but still 64.5 cents above year-ago levels.

Wholesale gasoline prices jumped 5 to 7 cents per gallon yesterday. Prices could move higher as the spring driving season approaches.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report) 

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A former church administrator gets 17 months in prison for stealing from the church.

Springfield News-Sun reporter Valerie Lough reports Diane Maddy, 55, took some $300,000 from Christ Chapel Church of God, 2404 Troy Road, between 2003 and 2009,.he pleaded guilty to one count of theft last month.

She pleaded guilty to one count of theft last month.

Maddy was also ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution.

(Information from the Springfield News-Sun)

DAYTON, Ohio -- The Montgomery County Emergency Food and Shelter Policy Board cut off federal funding yesterday for two programs run by the Rev. Raleigh Trammell's Dayton-based non profit groups.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lynn Hulsey reports the action was taken after the board found out the groups had quietly closed a food pantry and a domestic violence shelter that received funding last year. They said no to the group's applications for $88,016 in additional Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for 2010.

The vote eliminated funding for the Dayton Southern Christian Leadership Conference's domestic violence shelter. It also eliminated funding for the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance's pantry and food programs. Together the groups last year received $124,558 in FEMA money.

The shelter and food pantry reportedly had been closed since August.

The IMA and SCLC applications for 2010 FEMA money -- signed respectively by Trammell and his daughter, Angela Goodwine -- made no mention of the programs having closed.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

KETTERING, Ohio -- Kettering schools are going to the voters this May for a 6.9-mill operating levy.

Dayton Daily News reporter Kelli Wynn reports the Kettering Board of Education unanimously approved the ballot issue last night.

The election is May 4th.

The owner of a $100,000 house would pay $211.31 per year if the 5-year levy is approved, generating $9.1 million annually.

The board also voted to make James Schoenlein the district's permanent superintendent.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota's quality control executive says the automaker is looking into possible power-steering problems with the Corolla subcompact, the world's best-selling car, and is considering a recall.

Shinichi Sasaki, who oversees quality at Toyota Motor Corp., said Wednesday that details of what may be wrong and the number of cars that could need repairs were still unclear.

He said the automaker is considering a recall, but no decision has been made as the company was still looking into the complaints in the U.S., which are fewer than 100.

At the same press conference, Toyota's president Akio Toyoda said he won't attend a U.S. Congressional hearing on the automaker's safety lapses.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A Scottish terrier is America's new top dog.

Sadie the Scottie walked off with the title Tuesday night by winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.

The show for purebred dogs at Madison Square Garden in New York was briefly interrupted in the final minutes by two protesters. Two women calmly walked into the center ring and held up signs saying "Breeders Kill" and "Mutts Rule." They were led away by security without incident.

Sadie was the huge favorite, and a crowd of about 15,000 saw the 4-year-old earn her 112th best in show ribbon.

Sadie beat out six other dogs in the final ring. Also in contention were a whippet, a French bulldog, a toy poodle, a brittany, a puli and a Doberman pinscher.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray says he's pointing to his accomplishments as the head of two state agencies as he seeks re-election this year.

Cordray is a Democrat and formally announced his candidacy Tuesday. He won the office in a special election in 2008 after predecessor Marc Dann resigned under political pressure because of a sexual harassment scandal.

The Grove City resident was elected state treasurer in 2006. He says he met his promise to restore professionalism at the attorney general's office just like he restored integrity to state investments at the treasurer's office after an investment scandal.

Former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, who lost his seat in the 2006 Democratic surge, is running on the Republican side. He says Cordray has continued many of Dann's failed policies.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Authorities say the suspect in the brutal beating of a homeless man in Cincinnati is on his way back from Las Vegas after his arrest there.

Police say 38-year-old Michael Taylor has been charged with felonious assault in the Jan. 24 assault.

Police say Taylor, who goes by the nickname "Madness," picked up 56-year-old Robert Meehan, slammed him to the ground, punched him, and hit him over the head with a beer bottle.

Police trying to figure out what happened have said acquaintances of Taylor defend him, saying he must have been provoked if he did anything.

Meehan is in a long-term treatment facility after 18 days in a hospital.

KETTERING, Ohio - Kettering City School's board of education will vote tonight, February 16, on two major issues that will effect residents in that district.

They are likely to vote on putting a $6.9 million operating levy on the may 4 ballot.  The levy would generate $9.1 million in revenue for the district.

The second major issue to be decided is the status of interim superintendent and whether or not his title will be confirmed.

Dayton Daily News writer Kelli Wynn spoke with Mr. Shoenlein about the proposed levy.

 "We're going to stay positive," said Schoenlein "We don't plan to say any threatening things about what will happen if the levy doesn't pass. If the voters say no, we have to reassess our situation and make new plans."

A property valued at $100,000 would pay $211 in property taxes to cover the increase.

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A northeast Ohio hospital system has joined the ranks of companies that will no longer hire smokers.

Akron-based Summa Health Systems launched a nicotine-free hiring policy this year for all new employees.

People applying to work for Summa must agree to a urine test to confirm they don't use tobacco products.

The policy doesn't affect current employees at the six-hospital system.

Other hospital and health care systems have also stopped hiring smokers, including the Cleveland Clinic and Medical Mutual of Ohio.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - Even as more snow is forecasted for the coming weekend, this month is already well on its way towards a record-setting snowfall total.

Currently 19.8 inches of snow have fallen in Dayton, making it the third snowiest February on record. Only 2003 (21.2 inches) and the blizzard-like 1910 (31.6 inches) have recorded higher snowfall totals in the month.

Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Rich Wirdzek says more snow could fall in each of the next three days, though they will likely only be showers that would lead to very little accumulation beyond a dusting. The next snowfall that would bring any accumulation totals will likely come Friday night and Saturday, though it is still too early to predict how much additional accumulation the storm could bring to the area.

DAYTON, Ohio - Gas prices continue to drop in the Miami Valley, but motorists should take advantage of the cheaper fuel costs now, because they aren't going to remain low for long.

The average in the Dayton area is currently at $2.42 for a gallon of regular unleaded, well below the national average of $2.62 per gallon. The prices are nearly 40 cents lower than they were just one month ago, but they are expected to head back towards that level fairly soon.

Experts are attributing the below average rates to two different reasons - low demand stemming from less driving during the recent winter snow storms, and excess stockpiles increasing the supply in the Midwest.

Gas prices could still drop lower over the next two to four weeks, but those prices could begin to rise as warmer weather thaws out the region and the winter stockpiles are used up.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - While jobs and the economy dominate the political landscape heading into this election year, Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish discovered the hard way that moral issues also remain strong for many in Ohio.

Last week, Budish stopped a plan to give floor recognition to a teen who had won an oratory contest sponsored by the National Right to Life organization. Before the issue was over, 19-year-old Elisabeth Trisler of Shelby County and her mother were appearing on Fox News.

Budish, a Democrat, said he wasn't trying to censor an anti-abortion viewpoint. He said he'd only wanted to avoid a potentially divisive issue.

University of Dayton political scientist Grant Neeley says the incident shows how instant communications and 24-hour cable will be able to magnify even the smallest events as the 2010 election approaches.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court is resolving apparent conflicts between a state law and a previous court ruling over deadlines for suing over child sexual abuse.

The case before the court Tuesday involves a claim filed by a 33-year-old woman in 2008 after she says she recalled abuse she suffered as a child.

The woman says a 1994 state Supreme Court ruling allows abuse claims to start when a victim recovers repressed memories of the abuse. But a 2006 law only allowed victims of child sexual abuse to file claims until they turn 30, or 12 years after becoming adults.

Two lower courts dismissed the woman's claim, saying the deadline for filing the claim had expired and the 2006 law did not permit exceptions for repressed memories.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

KETTERING, Ohio - More good news for the Miami Valley, as another company is planning to expand and hire more employees in 2010.

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. says they expect to hire an additional 50 people in the area by the end of the year. The move will add to the expansion of the company that has seen the number of employees grow from 250 to 350 in the span of two years.

The company primarily serves Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, but also has business with other federal agencies. They plan to hire intelligence analysts, cost estimators, acquisition specialists, and engineers.

Booz Allen has been expanding in its quarters at 1900 Founders Drive and now occupies the entire third floor.. More room beyond the current 30,000 square feet of office space may be needed for future growth, according to an area spokesman.

Booz Allen's national headquarters is in McLean, Virginia.

WILMINGTON, Ohio - Despite the National Weather Service lowering the weather advisory to a Winter Weather Advisory, officials in Clinton County say conditions there are severe enough to warrant the issuance of a Level 3 Snow Emergency.

A Level 3 Snow Emergency prohibits all travel by any motorists except for emergency personnel. All cars should be removed from the streets for snow clearing, and only official snow plows should be removing the snow.

Other counties in the Miami Valley also remain under a snow emergency. Champaign, Clark, Darke, Preble, and Warren Counties are all in a Level 2 Snow Emergency, which means drive only if absolutely necessary, while Butler, Greene, Logan, Mercer, Miami, and Montgomery Counties in Ohio and Wayne County in Indiana are under a Level 1 Snow Emergency, which means motorists should take extra caution as roadways may be hazardous.

FAIRBORN, Ohio -- It started as a typical two-car crash on snow covered roads but lead to a not-so-typical chain-reaction crash involving some eight other accidents.

It happened on Old Yellow Springs Road near Fairborn.

After the original wreck, several other drivers headed for the nearby ditch to avoid contact with other vehicles.

The road had to be closed down for a time.

No one was hurt.

DAYTON, Ohio -- One area law firm is now suing Toyota on behalf of a Toyota owner in Greenville.

Sebaly, Shillito and Dyer is filing a class action suit against the automaker.

The suit claims Toyota continued to sell cars even though they allegedly knew some models could suddenly accelerate, causing potential crashes.

The lawsuit is looking for damages over $5 million.

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A woman is injured when her car crashes with a semi on I-70 in Huber Heights.

The driver was reportedly merging onto I-70 westbound just past Old Troy Pike when she spun and was hit by the truck.

That driver was taken to the hospital. Her injuries are not thought to be serious.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A Springfield man is arrested after taking cops on a wild ride.

Robert Gnau, 65, of 1590 E. High St., was arrested Friday on charges of failure to comply with the order of a police officer, resisting arrest, excessive speed, reckless operation and two counts of OMVI.

A deputy saw Gnau driving over the speed limit West National Road.

Gnau reportedly would not stop. Stop sticks were deployed but he swerved around them.

Gnau pulled over at the intersection of Ohio 571 and Milton Carlisle Road. Deputies and an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper tried to get him from his vehicle, but he reportedly resisted arrest.

Deputies tased Gnau and took him to the Clark County Jail.

(Information from the Springfield News Sun)

DAYTON, Ohio -- They are in the midst of a very successful, but the University of Dayton women's basketball is attacking something even more important.

Dayton Daily News sports writer Doug Harris reports that UD will donating all revenue from ticket sales from Wednesday night's 7 p.m. game against Xavier to the Red Cross to help victims in earthquake-stricken Haiti. The team has had T-shirts made to show their support and also will be selling those to help the cause.

Coach Jim Jabir got the idea for the charitable effort after learning that one of his former players, Karah Cloxton, was planning to go to Haiti in March with Score International as a medical missionary.

He decided not only to provide some financial support for Cloxton, who is in her second year at the Marshall University School of Medicine, but also to get his team involved.

This is a major game for the Flyers against 6th ranked Xavier. Dayton is 20-5 overall and 8-2 in the A-10.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

LEBANON, Ohio -- The fight to replace Mike Kilburn on the Warren County commission.

Middletown Journal reporter Ed Richter reports Union Twp. Trustee Chris Koch, 42, filed his petitions with the Warren County Board of Elections for the Republican primary.

Koch, who is president of the Union Twp. trustees, described himself as a "tea party Republican" and said he wants to be "the voice of conservative leadership on the county commission as Kilburn has for the past 28 years."

Koch joins former Sheriff Tom Ariss who has already filed his petitions to run in the Republican primary.

Also taking out petitions, but have not yet filed are former Mason mayor Tom Grossman, Franklin Councilman Jason Faulkner, and Sandra Tugrul of Turtlecreek Twp.

Carlisle Mayor Tim Humphries, who is registered as a Democrat, has also taken out petitions to run for county commissioner and has said he will be filing to run in the Republican primary.

(Information from the Middletown Journal)

KETTERING, Ohio -- An ambulance on an emergency run crashes with and SUV in Kettering.

It happened Monday morning at Stroop and Marshall.

The Beavercreek ambulance was on a run to Kettering Medical Center when the SUV reportedly slid on the snow-covered roadway and hit the emergency vehicle.

Only minor injuries were reported.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish discovered the hard way that moral issues remain strong this election year.

Last week, Budish stopped a plan to give floor recognition to a teen who had won an oratory contest sponsored by the National Right to Life organization.

Before the issue was over, 19-year-old Elisabeth Trisler of Shelby County and her mother were appearing on Fox News.

Budish is a Democrat. He said he wasn't trying to censor an anti-abortion viewpoint. He said he'd only wanted to avoid a potentially divisive issue.

University of Dayton political scientist Grant Neeley says the incident shows how instant communications and 24-hour cable will be able to magnify even the smallest events as the 2010 election approaches.

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio State Highway Patrol says one southbound lane of an interstate where there were dozens of crashes during snowfall has reopened to traffic.

The lane of Interstate 71 southbound reopened Monday night after crashes involving more than 50 vehicles just south of State Route 61.

The highway patrol says I-71 will remain one lane between State Route 61 and U.S. Route 36 throughout the night.

Motorists are advised to use caution in the Delaware County area because semis involved in the crashes are in the roadway. Emergency crews plan to remove the semis during daylight hours.

The highway patrol is investigating the crashes, which resulted in minor injuries and the hospitalization of one person.

I-71 southbound was closed for about seven hours. I-71 northbound remained open.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A camp dedicated to science for kids is set for this summer.

"Air Camp" will last a week and run in July.

It's for kids from seventh to ninth grade and will teach about science, technology, engineering and math involved with aviation.

Among the stops for the campers will be the Air Force Museum, the Boonshoft Museum of Science and Discovery, and the Wright Brothers Airport.

ST. PARIS, Ohio -- Another local school district is facing major budget cuts.

Springfield News-Sun reporter Matt Sanctis says the Graham school board is asking for input from staff and faculty.

There are numerous proposals for cuts after costs rose while funding remains flat.

Some proposals have been deemed unfeasible.

Officials say even with cuts, the school district will probably need to ask voters to approve a levy this fall.

(Information from Springfield News-Sun)

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- The snow continuing to cause problems around the Miami Valley, including Clark County.

WHIO Radio Springfield Bureau Chief Darryl Bauer reports Clark County has raised its alert level to a Level Two snow emergency while Champaign County remains at a Level One.

A Level One snow emergency means roads are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Drivers are urged to be cautious.

Many crashes, including a number of slideoffs, have been reported along I 70.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The State Highway Patrol in Ohio has shut down a 29-mile stretch of Interstate 71 north of Columbus because of snowy conditions that caused numerous traffic accidents.

Minor injuries were reported Monday. It was unclear how long the southbound lane of Interstate 71 in Delaware County would remain closed. The northbound lane remained open but traffic was moving very slowly.

The Columbus area is under a winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Tuesday. The National Weather Service said up to 9 inches of snow is expected.

CLAYTON. Ohio -- More problems for a former Northmont High School teacher and coach.

Dayton Daily News reporter Doug Page reports that Loren Meadows was arrested last week on charges he violated his probation on a conviction for having inappropriate contact with one of his athletes.

Clayton Police Chief Rick Rose said Meadows was seen at the junior high school and a complaint was lodged with his department. Rose said the information was forwarded to Montgomery County Probation that issued a warrant for Meadow's arrest.

Meadows pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of contributing to the unruliness of a minor as part of a plea agreement.

He was sentenced to 60 days in jail Sept. 23, 2009, and up to five years supervised probation by a sex-offender specialist. Besides surrendering his teaching license and agreeing to never coach minors, Meadows was barred from Northmont district property.

Meadows, who has resigned from the school district, taught social studies and served as assistant football coach and head boys and girls track coach.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

NEW YORK CITY -- None are called Fido or Rover but some dogs in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York might be the dog next door to you.

Dayton Daily News reporter Kim Margolis says two dogs from the Miami Valley are entered in this year's competition.

Entered are a Papillon (toy category) shown by Jessica Ray Isenbarger of Kettering and Shetland Sheepdog (herding) shown by Jessica Starbuck of Xenia.

There would have been a third as a Belgian Sheepdog shown by Sherri Wilmoth of Beavercreek was qualified to enter, but Wilmoth said it was too cold to fly her dog, Ch. Sarron Casino Royale to the show this weekend.

Best in Show will be chosen Tuesday night.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

DAYTON, Ohio -- A man dies this morning after being admitted to the hospital with series injuries Saturday.

William Cheeks, 68, was dropped off at Good Samaritan Hospital on Saturday. His injuries reportedly were so severe that he was transported to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died early this morning..

Cops say they do not know how Cheeks suffered the injuries.

An autopsy will be done after the President's Day holiday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government has received new complaints alleging 34 deaths in Toyota vehicles due to sudden acceleration since 2000. Many of the complaints have been filed in the past three weeks.

A government database on Monday shows that the government has received complaints alleging 13 additional deaths during the past three weeks.

The deaths allegedly attributable to this problem happened in nine crashes between 2005 and 2010. Through the end of 2009, complaints alleging 21 deaths in Toyota vehicles had been filed with the government.

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles globally during the past four months because of problems with gas pedals, floor mats and brakes.

The government typically receives a surge in complaints following a recall. None has yet been verified.

MIAMI COUNTY, Ohio -- A dehumidifier explodes in a Miami County house.

No injuries were reported in the incident at the residence on Free Road east of Piqua.

Investigators are not sure why the appliance exploded.

Damage is estimated at $500.

Firefighters from Piqua and Fletcher were called to the scene.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) -- Bowling Green State University in Ohio has suspended an associate professor accused of making verbal threats to colleagues.

A spokesman said Monday the suspension of Bruno Ullrich took effect Jan. 22 and is not a response to last week's arrest of an Alabama professor accused in the fatal shootings of three colleagues.

Bowling Green spokesman David Kielmeyer declined to describe the nature of the alleged threats made by Ullrich, who teaches physics and astronomy. University police charged Ullrich on Feb. 5 with aggravated menacing and inducing panic, both misdemeanors.

Kielmeyer said the university will have no further comment until the investigation is completed.

Messages seeking comment were left for Ullrich on Monday.

DAYTON, Ohio - As winter weather is once again set to pummel the Miami Valley, area counties have begun issuing snow emergencies in order to advise travelers of the current road conditions.

Currently, Darke, Clark, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Warren Counties in Ohio and Wayne County in Indiana have issued a Level 1 Snow Emergency, while Butler and Clinton Counties have upped their emergency to Level 2. No area counties have yet issued Level 3.

Below are the details for each of the three levels of snow emergency.

LEVEL 1: Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads are also icy. Drive very cautiously.

LEVEL 2: Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roadways. Contact your employer to see if you should report to work.

LEVEL 3: All roadways are closed to non-emergency personnel. No one should be out during these conditions unless it is absolutely necessary to travel. All employees should contact their employer to see if they should report to work. However, those traveling on the roadways may subject themselves to prosecution.

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio - A section of Interstate 70 in Huber Heights is closed after a semi collided with a passenger car.

Huber Heights police say they have closed westbound I-70 beginning at the on-ramp from OH-201, Old Troy Pike. There is no word yet on any injuries as a result of the crash or when the roadway might be reopened.

Stay tuned to AM 1290 and 95.7 FM News Talk Radio WHIO for complete traffic information as it becomes available.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- Sen. Evan Bayh, a prominent Democrat who has been mentioned prominently in connection with White House sweepstakes in recent years, is ready to announce he will not seek re-election, senior Democratic officials said Monday.

Bayh's departure continues a recent exodus from Congress among both Democrats and Republicans, including veteran Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, amid polls showing a rising anti-incumbent fervor in an electorate angry over high unemployment, mounting federal deficits and lucrative banking industry bonuses.

Bayh informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., of his plans in a telephone conversation Monday morning, according to a Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Democrats will have to scramble to find a replacement candidate for Bayh's seat. Friday is the filing deadline for the May primary, although the party would have until June 30 to select a replacement candidate.

Bayh is serving his second six-year term in the Senate, and is a centrist Democrat from a Republican-leaning state.

Bayh served two terms as Indiana's governor before winning the first of his two Senate terms in 1998. He had until recent weeks been regarded as a near certainty for re-election, having raised nearly $13 million for his campaign.

Bayh served two terms as Indiana's governor before winning the first of his two Senate terms in 1998.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

DAYTON, Ohio - Just call it another casualty of the advanced music technology.

Gem City Records, a major part of Dayton's music scene for nearly 30 years, closed its doors for the final time Sunday evening at 6 p.m. The Oregon District business had been selling records, albums, and CD's since 1981.

The store had originally been scheduled to close in January, but the store's owner pushed back the date in an effort to sell more of the inventory. Six people were affected by the closing.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Ohio charities operated by a national civil rights leader have received millions of dollars with little government oversight, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Rev. Raleigh Trammell, the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, is currently being investigated for alleged embezzlement. On Sunday, the newspaper reviewed documents involving groups associated with Trammell and the SCLC and reported that both a battered women's shelter near Dayton and a food pantry received government money last year even though they had closed.

Trammell is also the head of the Dayton chapter of the Atlanta-based group, which has been trying to remove him over allegations that he and another official embezzled $596,000 from the group.

FBI agents on Thursday raided the SCLC's Dayton office and Trammell's home. Trammell was not charged.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio has agreed to give $1.1 million to a man who spent nearly 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit.

Fifty-four-year-old Robert McClendon was released in August 2008 after he was cleared by DNA testing. McClendon says he's grateful for the settlement but it doesn't make up for the time spent in prison.

McClendon has been living in an apartment in Columbus with his son. He says he plans to buy a house, a car and invest the rest of the money.

The settlement still needs to be approved by the Ohio Court of Claims.

McClendon was convicted in 1991 of abducting and raping a female relative. A private lab agreed to conduct DNA tests after he and other inmates were profiled by The Columbus Dispatch in a series that exposed flaws in the state's DNA testing system.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With six medals the United States continues to lead the count going into day 4 of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The sole gold medal for the U.S. team was awarded to Hannah Kearney in the women's Freestyle Skiing event.

Germany follows close behind with 4 medals and France has 3 with two of them being gold.

Canada, this year's host, received their first gold medal on home soil when Alexandre Bilodeau took the men's Freestyle Skiing.

Day 4 is set to begin with men's 10km Individual Cross Country skiing at 10a.m. eastern time.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for most of the Miami Valley from 4 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

The warning affects Butler, Clark, Champaign, Greene, Darke, Montgomery, Miami, Preble, Warren, and Clinton counties.  A winter weather advisory is in effect for Auglaize, Logan, Mercer, and Shelby counties from 6 a.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Kimberly Thomson is calling for 6-8 inches of snow south of Interstate 70 and 2-5 inches to the north.

RIVERSIDE, Ohio - Melanie Bryan is facing possible charges of child endangering for leaving her 4 month old son in a van for almost an hour.

The infant was found inside a van in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Riverside around 7 p.m. Thursday night after getting a call from a concerned neighbor.

Police say Bryan was visiting her mother at the complex while her child was left out in the 23 degree weather.

Ms. Bryans' other three children have been placed in the care of relatives by Children's Services.

Police said when officers arrived at the apartment complex, Bryan was "extremely disoriented and possibly intoxicated."

WHIO Channel 7 contributed to this story.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The U.S. marshal's office says an Ohio woman has been arrested on charges that she impeded the government's search for her fugitive sister in a $1.9 billion corporate fraud case.

Authorities say 66-year-old Linda Case was arrested Friday morning at her home in Grove City outside Columbus on charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Investigators say Case knew the whereabouts of sister Rebecca Parrett and provided her support and lied about it to federal officers.

Parrett was sentenced in absentia in March 2009 to 25 years in prison on 13 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

Parrett was the former vice chairman of National Century Financial Enterprises, formerly based in suburban Columbus. She disappeared in March 2008 following her conviction.

DAYTON, Ohio - Gem City Records, located at 318 E. Fifth Street, will close its doors permanently at 6 p.m. on Sunday February 14.

Long seen as one of the few places in town to buy local music and hard to find vinyl, Gem City fell victim to the recession and corporate downsizing in December.

In an effort to clear out any remaining stock the owners have reduced the price of everything in the store to 60%-80% off.

Dayton Daily News reporter Jill Kelly spoke with store Manager Dale Walton.

"It's just down to where we don't have that much stuff," Walton said. "It was a corporate move."

SPENCER, W.Va. (AP) -- A Catholic priest from Cincinnati has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy in West Virginia in 1991.

Robert F. Poandl entered his plea Friday in Roane County Circuit Court. Judge David W. Nibert set trial for June 15. Poandl and his attorneys declined comment after the hearing.

The 68-year-old priest was indicted last month after a 28-year-old Cincinnati man told police that Poandl molested him during a visit to the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in August 1991.

Poandl is charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse and sexual abuse by a custodian.

He is associated with the Glenmary Home Missioners, a religious society in Cincinnati. Glenmary has said Poandl was removed from his ministry assignment last year after it learned of the allegations.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21 year old Olympic luger, has died from injuries sustained during a crash while practicing for the games.

The luger was a member of the former Soviet state of Russia. On his second run Friday he lost control of his sled, went over a wall and struck an unpadded steel pole close to the finish line.

Mr. Kumaritashvili's family has not yet been notified and no official word has come out on the cause or details of the accident.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Federal authorities say poultry processor Koch Foods Inc. has paid more than $536,000 in fines stemming from a 2007 immigration raid in southwest Ohio.

Authorities say they rounded up 161 workers who were in this country illegally at the Koch plant in Fairfield, 13 miles north of Cincinnati.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday the fines have to do with filling out and verifying employment forms, and that Park Ridge, Ill.-based Koch has taken steps to avoid future violations.

An attorney for company has said there was no evidence that anyone at Koch knowingly broke the law.

NEW YORK CITY -- Former President Bill Clinton has left a New York hospital.

Doctors at New York Presbyterian Hospital who opened a blocked artery in President Bill Clinton's chest say he'll make a full return to his "very active lifestyle."

Cardiologist Allan Schwartz said the former president could be back at work as soon as Monday.

Clinton was hospitalized Thursday to have a clogged heart artery opened after suffering discomfort in his chest.

Two stents resembling tiny mesh scaffolds were placed inside the artery as part of a medical procedure that is common for people with severe heart disease.

Clinton had quadruple bypass surgery more than five years ago.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The Dayton Urban League gets an interim boss.

Dayton Daily News reporter Kyle Nagel reports longtime city of Dayton employee William Gillispie has been named interim president and chief executive officer for the organization.

He replaces Sheldon Mitchell, who left the organization yesterday.

Gillispie is a retired deputy city manager with the city of Dayton and a member of several boards, including those of Miami Valley Hospital and Dayton Metro Library.

The Urban League will form a search committee and expects to find a permanent replacement for Mitchell in six to eight months.

OXFORD, Ohio -- A Miami University student says she was attacked while taking a shower.

Police reports say the 21-year-old student suffered cuts during a struggle with a male suspect in the shower Wednesday.

While the woman fought off the intruder, the incident does come after three reported rapes in three weeks in Oxford.

No charges have been filed in those three rapes.

The case is under investigation.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- It's not only a smart phone, it's a hero.

A Blackberry is being credit with saving a woman's life after a shot was fired inside a restaurant.

It happened at the Frickers on Miller Lane in Butler Township.

Anthony Holtvogt, 24, of Kettering has now been charged with possession of a firearm in a liquor permit premise.

Reports indicate Holtvogt had the gun in his breast pocket when it went off, hitting his girlfriend's blackberry, which was on his hip.

The woman only suffered a bruise.

OAKWOOD, Ohio -- Oakwood cops arrest two people they believe are responsible for a recent rash of thefts.

Reports say there have been some 15 burglaries in two months and a number of car break-ins.

Nicholas Jenkins, 28, and Ronnie Walters, 42, have been arrested but there is no connection to each other, police say.

Jenkins has reportedly admitted to several burglaries.

Walters was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a number of vehicle break-ins.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Cory Cooperwood scored 16 points and N'Gai Evans poured in four of Wright State's final seven points, leading the Raiders in a 68-63 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday night.

After Ja'Rob McCallum hit a 3-pointer to pull the Panthers even at 61-all, Evans hit two free throws to give Wright State a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The foul shots sparked a 7-2 Raiders run in the game's final 2:57.

Todd Brown added 15 points for Wright State (16-9, 9-5 Horizon League) and is the 12th all-time leading scorer in the conference with 1,390 career points. Evans chipped in 12.

The Panthers had a 35-24 rebounding advantage and led 13-8 in second-chance points, but the Raiders finished with a 19-8 edge in points off of turnovers as they forced 14 while committing only nine.

James Eayrs scored 20 points for the Panthers (13-12, 5-8), while McCallum had 17 off the bench.

By Dayton Daily News Staff Writers Dave Larsen, Lynn Hulsey, Lucas Sullivan and Kim Margolis

DAYTON, Ohio -- Federal agents removed computers, cardboard file boxes and plastic storage bags Thursday, Feb. 11, from the home and offices of the Rev. Raleigh Trammell, national board chairman of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The Dayton Daily News reports the raids come in the wake of allegations that Trammell stole money from the civil rights group. The SCLC is investigating Trammell and the group's treasurer, Spiver Gordon , alleging that they are involved in the misappropriation of $569,000.

Art Rocker, president of the SCLC's Florida organization, said national President Byron Clay last fall provided the FBI with evidence that Gordon, of Alabama, made two wire transfers of $6,000 in SCLC funds to a Dayton bank account controlled by Trammell .

U.S. Justice Department spokesman Fred Alverson said that the searches are in relation to an investigation into SCLC financial activities. No criminal charges have been filed.

Agents carrying search warrants Thursday entered Trammell's home at 1505 Olmstead Place, local SCLC headquarters at 2132 W. Third St. and the home of Trammell's daughter, Angela Goodwine, at 1482 Vernon Drive.

"I certainly want to know what's going on. Everybody is being very courteous. I am providing the information that is required," said Trammell, who is also chairman of the Dayton chapter of the SCLC .

"They want what you've been writing in the newspaper," he added, "that I've got $569,000."

(Article from the Dayton Daily News)

NEW YORK, New York - Former President Bill Clinton was taken to Columbian Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan around 4:30 p.m. this Thursday for pain in his chest.

Mr. Clinton underwent a stent procedure to re-adjust the two of the small devices that open the coronary artery connected to his heart.

President Clinton had quadruple bi-pass surgery in 2004 at which time they inserted small stents into his heart.

His wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was seen leaving the white house in a calm and unrushed manor.

Initial reports show that the former President is now recovering after the surgery and is in "good spirits."

LEBANON, Ohio - A Cincinnati man has been arrested by the State Highway Patrol for attempting to smuggle drugs into the Warren Correctional Institution.

Timothy Eli, 26, tried to bring six baggies of marijuana into the prison while visiting his brother at the facility. Eli surrendered the contraband after being questioned about the drugs.

Police had been tipped off that he might be attempting to smuggle the weed, approximately five grams of it, into the facility.

Eli was incarcerated in the Warren County Jail. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The death of an Ohio man found slumped over while shoveling snow is being considered a homicide, because authorities say he had been shot and that his wallet and other items were missing.

The coroner's office in Columbus says 55-year-old Billy Howard died of a gunshot wound to the chest. He died Tuesday night at a hospital after his wife called 911 assuming he had suffered a heart attack while clearing snow at their home in a working class neighborhood on the city's southeast side.

Police say Deborah Howard told them she had not heard any gunfire.

Detective Jay Fulton says he believes the motive was robbery and that Howard was a random victim.

Howard was a minister at Columbus Christian Center Church and also owned an after-construction cleanup business.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- A new report shows the number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in January increased 15 percent from the same month last year.

RealtyTrac reports that more than 315,000 households were sent a foreclosure-related notice last month. That was equivalent to one in every 409 homes receiving a filing, which includes default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions.

Ohio had the nation's 14th highest foreclosure rate for January, with a notice going out to one out of every 457 households in the state.

Foreclosure numbers could remain high as unemployed homeowners who have tried to keep up with their mortgages finally start missing monthly payments.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

GREENVILLE, Ohio -- Road crews in the Miami Valley are still dealing with ice and drifts left behind by the second snowstorm to hit the region in less than a week.

Darke County began the day under a Level 3 Snow Emergency, but has since reduced that to a Level 1. The county's 911 coordinator, Brandon Redmond, says 10 drivers got stuck Tuesday and yesterday, though that was down from the 60 who needed help getting out of snow during the earlier storm Friday and Saturday.'

A number of cities and municipalities, including Cincinnati, have instructed residents to move cars off streets to make clearing them easier.

Snow tapered off yesterday, though Dayton still set a snowfall record for the date at 1.9 inches.

Many school districts that closed for two days have reopened today, though a number still posted delays and a few in the northern Miami Valley were forced to close for a third day because of poor road conditions.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's House speaker is going back on an earlier decision against House floor honors for a Miami Valley woman who won a National Right to Life oratory contest.

The office of Democratic Speaker Armond Budish says it's aiming to have a resolution presented to 19-year-old Elisabeth Trisler of Shelby County sometime next week.

His spokeswoman says Budish changed his mind to correct mistaken impressions that the speaker said no because he disagreed with Trisler's stand on abortion. His initial decision had drawn criticism from Republicans, abortion opponents and the American Civil Liberties Union.

In opposing the presentation originally planned for February 3, Budish said he was concerned that Trisler's award came from a "politically sensitive" group.

DAYTON, Ohio - Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized a computer and several boxes from the home of Reverend Raleigh Trammell, according to Dayton police.

Trammell is currently the head of the Dayton chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, as well as the national board chairman. He has been under investigation from the national SCLC for allegedly embezzling $569,000 from the organization during his time as chairman.

Agents searched the Dayton offices of the SCLC looking for any information or evidence that could like Trammell to the alleged misuse of the group's funds. They also raided the home of Trammell's daughter Angela Goodwine, taking boxes and a computer from her house as well.

According to reports, the group's treasurer, Spiver Gordon of Alabama, is also under investigation for involvement in the case.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state hockey bracket is set, and five area teams will take to the ice in a week and a half to begin a quest to win the Columbus District and, ultimately, a state championship.

The defending district champion Centerville Elks will face off against Thomas Worthington in an opening round game on Friday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m. A win in that game will create a third matchup this season with Springboro on Sunday, February 21 at 3:30 p.m. The Panthers received a bye to the second round.

The highest-ranked area team was the Beavercreek Beavers, who also received a first-round bye. They will play the winner of Gahanna and St. Francis DeSales on Saturday, February 20 at 5:30 p.m.

The Troy Trojans also avoided a first-round game. They will face one of the top teams from the Columbus area, Dublin Jerome, at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 21 in their second round game.

The final area team, Archbishop Alter, will face Olentangy in their first-round game, currently slated for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 20.

All district games will be held at the Ice Haus, adjacent to Nationwide Arena, in Columbus. The winner of the district tournament will earn a berth in the Final Four, set for March 13 and 14 at Nationwide Arena.

DAYTON, Ohio - The City of Dayton announced that they will begin a new recycling program designed to encourage more participation.

Officials say the city will distribute new jumbo recycling bins with microchips embedded inside in an effort to track citizen participation. Recent reports show that only about 27 percent of Dayton's residents recycle, but only account for about 3 percent of the city's waste stream.

The microchips, which use radio frequency identification technology, will be installed in the bin handles. Four city waste collection trucks will be equipped to read the microchips that will be associated with specific street addresses.

The city's new bins will be blue, but will resemble the green ones currently in use. A $500,000 federal stimulus grant will pay for a consultant to design a promotional campaign to encourage more recycling throughout the city.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (AP) -- Utility crews rumbled along icy roads working to restore power to more than 100,000 customers from Virginia to New Jersey and snowbound airports resumed limited operations Thursday, a day after a powerful storm disrupted the lives of 50 million people from the southern plains up through the East Coast.

Many schools systems in the path of the storm remained closed for a second day, including in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., although New York City school children headed back to class after only their third snow day in six years.

In Washington, the federal government was closed for a fourth straight day. The nation's capital joined Philadelphia and Baltimore in logging their snowiest winters in history.

The National Weather Service in Washington, D.C. said the storm compares to some of the greatest ever largely because of its timing. An estimated 50 million people were affected.

The latest storm dumped nearly 16 inches in Philadelphia and about 20 inches in central New Jersey. Totals ranged from 10 to 16 inches around New York City.

The storm had halted flights throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, but by Thursday morning flights began to arrive at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. Both of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's two main runways reopened, but officials warned that flight cancellations would continue because of the storm. One primary runway was open at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday morning and a second should open by 9 a.m. All three New York area airports were back in service, although many flights still remained canceled.

The storm set new records across the area. As of Wednesday, Baltimore had 72.3 inches so far this winter, the Washington area had 54.9 inches and Philadelphia had 70.3 inches. The previous records for snowiest winters were 62.5 inches in Baltimore in 1995-96; 54.4 inches in Washington in 1898-99; and 65.5 inches in Philadelphia in 1995-96.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

PREBLE COUNTY, Ohio -- An investigation is underway into the death of a ten-month-old baby in Preble County.

The baby was staying with her grandmother when she was found not breathing yesterday and was rushed to the hospital where she died.

What piqued the interest of the Sheriff's Office is the fact this is the second baby of the 20-year-old mom to die in the last year.

No official cause of death has yet been determined.

TROTWOOD, Ohio -- The SWAT team is called in when a man barricades himself in his Trotwood home, armed with a knife.

The incident began when the man, Robert Smith the Third, reportedly beat up his girlfriend, Jessica Healy and she called the cops.

Smith eventually gave up.

He is now in the Montgomery County Jail facing multiple charges, including domestic abuse.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- No foul play is suspected in the death of a man whose body was discovered in Snyder Park Tuesday night

Verl E. Workman, 55, of 1310 W. Pleasant St., was discovered on the floor of the shelter house near Peanut Pond around 6 p.m.

Springfield News Sun reporter Valerie Lough reports the death does not appear to be suspicious and an autopsy was done.

Reports also indicate it doesn't appear that Workman's death was weather-related.

XENIA, Ohio -- Co-workers of a mom on trial in the death of her two-year-old daughter say they saw facial injuries on the tot in the weeks before she died.

Malak Deek, 22, is on trial for a second time in Greene County Common Pleas Court on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lou Grieco reports the three former co-workers of Deek at a Speedway station in Fairborn testified they saw injuries but disagreed on the type injuries they saw.

Prosecutors said Deek did nothing to stop the repeated abuse of her daughter, Juliana Berry, by Deek's boyfriend, Brian LaPrairie.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

DAYTON, Ohio -- The investigation continues into what originally looked like a murder-suicide last month.

Dayton Daily News reporter Lucas Sullivan reports cops are checking to see if the scene of the double homicide was made to look like a murder-suicide.

This all happened at a house in the 4300 block of Gennesse Avenue on January 6.

a man called 911 and said, "My girl's been shot," and then hung up the phone.

Inside the one-story home, officers found Carin White, 26, and Dewayne Johnson, 35, dead in a bedroom, authorities said.

White's boyfriend, the 911 caller, was found outside the home, police said.

The Montgomery County Coroner's Office ruled their deaths homicides.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

CARLISLE, Ohio -- The continuing soap opera at Carlisle's city hall continues.

The latest revelation is a report from the city's law director was released Wednesday that porn was found on two city computers used by Mayor Tim Humphries.

The Dayton Daily News reports that adult porn was found on the computers used by Mayor Tim Humphries.

Carlisle's law director said Humphries will not be removed from office because of the porn or for an alleged road rage incident in December because he is an elected official, as opposed to a city employee.

Materials found on Humphries city-owned computer and on his personal computer contained more than 200 images of young males engaged in sexual activity.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A task force investigating human trafficking in Ohio says nearly 800 immigrants are forced into the sex trade or sweatshop-type jobs annually.

The report by the Trafficking in Persons Study Commission released Wednesday also finds that more than 1,000 children born in Ohio are forced into the sex trade each year.

The commission also estimates that hundreds more immigrants and Ohio children are at-risk of being forced into sex trafficking or to work against their will in fields, restaurants, sweatshops or construction sites.

The report says Ohio's human trafficking laws are weak and that police and other agencies often don't recognize human trafficking when responding to reports of illegal activity.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A Columbus newspaper is reporting that a Springfield man has pleaded guilty to causing a crash that killed a passenger.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Arthur Crossley, 28, of Springfield pleaded guilty to driving recklessly on Feb. 9, 2008, on Alum Creek Drive in Franklin County.

His car crossed the centerline and struck a vehicle going the other way.

The crash killed a passenger in Crossley's vehicle, 25-year-old Dwight Flowers.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA is taking a close look at two new problems on space shuttle Endeavour.

A round ceramic spacer near one of the cockpit windows is sticking out. And a thermal tile repair that was made before the flight has failed, and the original crack is back, right over the cockpit.

Mission management team leader LeRoy Cain said Wednesday that neither problem appears to be serious. But he said everyone wants to be "very vigilant and take a closer look" in case spacewalking repairs are needed.

NASA has been extra careful about such matters since Columbia was brought down by a cracked wing in 2003.

The good news Wednesday was that Endeavour's heat shield looks to be in overall good shape. The shuttle arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday.

MASON, Ohio -- There will be a bunch of jobs available in Warren County this summer and these could be fun!

Kings Island near Mason plans to hire to hire more than 4000 employees for the 2010 season.

They are holding a job fair from this Saturday and Sunday, February 20 and 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Positions include those in admissions, call center, cash control, entertainment, food and beverage, fire and safety, games, guest services, lifeguards, merchandise, rides, security, sweeps and warehouse.

You need to be 15 years of age or older.

Prospects can apply online and then come to the job fair for an interview.

For more information, call (513) 754-5748 or visitkingsisland.com.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- A woman is shot overnight after leaving a Harrison Township strip club.

It happened just after two this morning at the Gentleman's Club at 2213 Wagoner Ford Road.

Dayton Daily News reporter Katherine Ullmer reports a 44-year-old woman was in a van when someone shot at the vehicle. She then drove to a nearby convenience store .

She was taken to Miami Valley Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Several other vehicles in the parking lot were damaged by the gunfire.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

CARLISLE , Ohio -- Carlisle's police chief has been put on ice, at least for a while.

Dayton Daily News report Ed Richter reports Chief Tim Boggess, 45, been placed on indefinite administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of a review.

Officials say "there were numerous issues" that led to the action, including issues with Mayor Tim Humphries involving charges against Humphries in an alleged road rage incident.

Boggess, 44, says he's been told to resign by March 1 or be terminated.

He has been Carlisle's police chief since June 2004.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- A man was found dead in the snow in Clark County.

Verl Workman, 55, was probably digging out his van that had gotten stuck in the snow, according to reporst.

Workman's body was found in a shelter at Snyder Park.

We are told that his death does not appear to be suspicious. An autopsy will be performed at Springfield Regional Medical Center to determine the exact cause of death.

(Information from whiotv.com)

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- A Harrison Township mom and her three kids have now been released from the hospital after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning early this morning.

They were treated and released after only a few hours at the hospital.

Carbon monoxide detectors can help in this kind of situation and this Harrison Township home did not have one.

If you live in Harrison Township, firefighters will give out high quality detectors for free.

It appears that the furnace malfunctioned causing the carbon monoxide leak.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police say a Tennessee elementary school principal is in critical condition after she and an assistant principal were shot and wounded by a co-worker at their office.

The shooting at Inskip Elementary School in Knoxville happened Wednesday afternoon about an hour after all the children were dismissed for a snow day.

Forty-eight-year-old Mark Stephen Foster is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Police say Foster was a co-worker, but wouldn't say what his job was. The school's Web site identifies Foster as a fourth-grade teacher.

University of Tennessee Medical Center officials said Principal Elisa Luna was in critical condition and Assistant Principal Amy Brace was in stable condition.

A school spokeswoman said classes would be canceled for the rest of the week.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market has managed to steady itself after hearing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's plans to dismantle the central bank's supports for the economy.

The major stock indexes recovered from sharp early losses to close just modestly lower.

Bernanke revealed the Fed's thinking on how to wean the market from the drastic measures taken to keep the economy afloat. He said the Fed will likely start tightening credit by boosting the interest rate it pays banks on deposits with the central bank.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow is down 20 at 10,038. The Standard & Poor's 500 is down 2 at 1,068. The Nasdaq composite index is down 3 at 2,148.

Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1 billion shares.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio -- Four people, including three kids, are taken to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning.

It happened in Harrison Township.

Crews found a woman passed out at the front door and the three children in the home ranging from six to 18 years of age.

Initial reports say conditions range from serious to critical.

Apparently the problem was caused by a malfunctioning furnace.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A Dayton young girl falls from a second floor window, breaking her leg.

It happened on Cleveland Avenue yesterday.

The eight-year-old was home from school for the day.

Cops say the window apparently gave way and the child fell onto an awning.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Handshakes, hugs and a "good to see you" were plentiful as the International Space Station crew welcomed their shuttle mates aboard today.

Endeavour astronauts are delivering a new room and observation deck that will come close to completing construction 200 miles above Earth.

The midnight rendezvous occurred as the two spacecraft sailed over the Atlantic, just west of Portugal. It took longer than normal to lock the shuttle and station together because of the relative motion between the two.

Space station commander Jeffrey Williams says he's happy to see his friends, "because we haven't seen many people other than the crew for a long time."

The shuttle's six astronauts were impressed with what they saw as they floated in.

Endeavour commander, George Zamka called the orbiting outpost "spectacular and shiny."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is lashing out at critics of the state's plan to use $400 million in federal stimulus money for a startup rail service, calling them "cheerleaders for failure."

Strickland said Tuesday he's tired of people who attack every idea that comes along and always look for something negative to say.

The governor says that's not the way to move Ohio forward. Strickland, a Democrat running for re-election, says the plan will create at least 8,000 jobs and is a first step toward building a passenger rail infrastructure.

Some Republicans have questioned the plan, and newspapers have been full of letters to the editor on the topic, some supportive, some critical.

Strickland says other states would have rejoiced to receive $400 million in federal funding.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio -- In a match up between two Top 50 RPI programs, the University of Dayton Flyers men's basketball team will host the first place Charlotte 49ers tonight at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on AM 1290 and 95.7 FM, News Talk Radio WHIO beginning at 6 p.m. with the expanded Bud Light pregame show from the arena.

Riding a two-game winning streak, UD enters the game 16-6 overall and 5-3 in the Atlantic 10. In conference play the Flyers are out-rebounding opponents by 10.8 per game and are limiting opposing offenses to 63.4 points per game and .387 shooting from the field.

The Flyers' Chris and Chris combo (Wright and Johnson) are leading the way. Chris Wright is averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 points per game, while Chris Johnson averages 12.4 points and 7.5 boards per contest. Through 12 home games this season, Dayton is shooting 47 percent from the floor and averaging 73.2 points.

No team in the conference has been on more of a roll of late than Charlotte. The 49ers lead the Atlantic 10 standings with an 8-1 record and have won seven straight. Charlotte, which is receiving votes in the current AP poll, has won four straight A-10 road games.

Charlotte's Shamari Spears is the current Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after averaging 23 points and 9.5 rebounds last week. Spears leads the 49ers in scoring with 16.6 points per game, while Derrio Harris averages 14.1 points per game.

NEW YORK CITY -- Today's women's basketball game between the University of Dayton and the Fordham Rams has been postponed.

The game has been rescheduled for a Noon tip on Thursday at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx.

The change was made due to inclement weather stretching from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Gametracker will be available for Thursday's contest at www.daytonflyers.com.

ATLANTA (AP) -- A judge in Georgia has signed an order cutting off the access the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's national treasurer has to SCLC funds.

Under an order Fulton Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey signed Monday, board members Curtis Harris, Rita Samuel or Jewel Devereaux are now required to sign any checks drawn on the organization's bank accounts.

It marks the latest development in an ongoing struggle for control of the Atlanta-based civil rights organization.

Members recently tried to remove treasurer Spiver Gordon of Eutaw, Ala., and chairman Raleigh Trammell of Dayton, Ohio, for allegedly writing checks to themselves or moving SCLC funds into accounts only they could access.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the money involved totaled about $569,000.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The Miami Valley continues under a Winter Storm Warning until 6 p.m. tonight.

We should continue to see light snow at times with windy conditions making for blowing and drifting show and a wind chill below zero.

Snow should taper to a few flurries late with an additional accumulation possible.

Virtually all of Ohio is under a winter storm warning until at least Wednesday evening.

The state is putting more than 1,000 trucks into service clearing roads.

CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Cedarville University is expanding with a new $20 million Health Science facility.

Springfield News Sun reporter Kelli Mori says ground breaking for the new building is scheduled for March 2011.

Cedarville plans to start its first group of professional pharmacy majors in 2012

The center will offer high-tech simulation equipment for pharmacy students and much needed additional room for the nursing department, according to officials.. The nursing department, which added a masters degree program last year, has outgrown its current home in the Engineering, Nursing and Science Center by some 50 percent.

There are currently 350 nursing students.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A woman shot in the face yesterday is breathing with the help of a ventilator.

Letricia Allen remains in serious condition.

Cops found her in a parked car 4428 Eichelberger.

They arrested Demeacco Jordan in the house at that address in connection with the shooting.

Cops say they are having trouble getting cooperation from witnesses.

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio -- Deputies nab a man who was wanted on charges of food stamp fraud and trafficking in crack cocaine.

Springfield News Sun reporter Matt Sanctis, Brian G. Lewis, 21, was arrested at the Day's Inn Motel, 11 W. Leffel Lane, in Springfield Twp.

Reports from the Sheriff's office say deputies and detectives made contact with Lewis, who was staying in the motel along with several other people.

He was wanted on a secret indictment on charges of trafficking in crack cocaine, and food stamp fraud. Authorities also found a large amount of cash and what appeared to be one ounce of crack cocaine.

Lewis is now in the Clark County Jail.

(Information from the Springfield News Sun)

DAYTON, Ohio -- Fire heavily damages an apartment in the 400 block of Briarwood Avenue yesterday afternoon.

It happened at the two-story, eight-unit Falcon Ridge apartments around 3:35 p.m.

Flames were evident in the front room of the apartment.

Two cats and a dog were killed. The resident will now move in with her son.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

LEBANON, Ohio -- The retrial for accused wife killer Ryan Widmer won't happen until May.

Middletown News Journal reporter Denis G. Callahan says the retrial has been rescheduled from March 15 to May 10.

Widmer, 29, was convicted of murder for allegedly drowning his wife, Sarah Widmer, in the bathtub of their Hamilton Twp. home in August 2008. He was sentenced to 15 years to life on April 2, 2009, following a two-week trial and 22 hours of jury deliberations.

A Warren County Common Pleas Court judge granted Widmer a new trial for juror misconduct.

Widmer is free on a $400,000 bond.

(Information from the Middletown News Journal)

TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid cars worldwide to fix brake problems -- the latest in a string of embarrassing safety problems at the world's largest automaker.

Company President Akio Toyoda made the recall announcement Tuesday afternoon at a press conference.

"We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority," Toyoda said.

There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the U.S. about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in some conditions.

MASON, Ohio -- Mason City Council votes down the proposed 3 percent ticket and 5 percent parking tax legislation aimed at Kings Island.

Dayton Daily News reporter Denise G. Callahan says more than 200 people attended last night's council meeting.

Had the tax passed, a Kings Island gold season pass, which includes parking, would have cost an additional $3 for their $99.99 pass. Park-goers would have had pay an extra $2 for a parking pass.

The biggest proponent of the taxes, Councilman Tony Bradburn, voted against both the proposed 3 percent ticket and 5 percent parking tax legislation.

The more than $2 million the tax would have generated would have been used to pay for infrastructure improvements and emergency services, city officials said.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

XENIA, Ohio -- Malak Deek's attempt to fire her lawyers is turned down by a judge.

Deek is to begin her second trial for her second involuntary manslaughter trial in the death of her two-year-old daughter.

The Dayton Daily News reports Greene County Common Pleas Judge Stephen Wolaver ruled last night that court-appointed attorneys James Armstrong and Arthur Ames must represent her.

Deek is accused of doing nothing to stop the abuse of her daughter, 2-year-old Juliana Berry, by Deek's boyfriend, Brian LaPrairie.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News)

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A major merger will create a new farm cooperative.

Springfield News Sun reporter Tom Stafford reports Southwest Landmark and Advanced Agri-Solutions will merge on Sept. 1 to create Truepointe Cooperative

The cooperative expects to have $500 million in annual sales and serve 4,300 members in 29 counties from Fort Wayne, Ind., to the Ohio River.

Truepoint plans to locate its new offices in Troy.

(Information from the Springfield News Sun)

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Crews are fighting a fire in a Springfield house.

WHIO Radio Springfield Bureau Chief Darryl Bauer reports the blaze is in a large house at 410 Gallagher Street.

Part of the home is occupied.

There are no reported injuries.

The fire started shortly after 3 p.m.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- The man who pleaded guilty in the balloon boy hoax has been released from a Colorado jail to serve the rest of his sentence in a work-release program.

Larimer County sheriff's office spokeswoman Eloise Campanella says Richard Heene was transferred Sunday and is expected to work during the day, then spend nights at a work-release dormitory. She didn't have information Monday on where he'll work.

Heene started serving a 90-day sentence Jan. 11 after pleading guilty to falsely influencing the sheriff. His wife, Mayumi, pleaded guilty to filing a false report and must serve 20 days in jail.

Sheriff's officials say the couple's report Oct. 15 that their young son had floated away in a UFO-shaped helium balloon was a hoax.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Concern about mounting debt in Europe has pushed the Dow Jones industrials below 10,000.

The Dow closed below the psychological barrier for the first time in three months Monday as financial stocks pulled the market lower.

Mounting debt problems in several weaker European economies including Greece, Portugal and Spain have raised new questions about the health of the global financial system.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow has ended down 104 at 9,908. The Standard & Poor's 500 is down 9 at 1,057. And the Nasdaq composite index is off 15 at 2,126.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1.1 billion shares compared with 1.6 billion shares Friday.

GREENE COUNTY, Ohio -- A Greene County mom getting a second trial in connection with the death of her two-year-old daughter wants new lawyers, according to the Dayton Daily News.

The retrial of Malak Deek is supposed to begin tomorrow. The first ended in a mistrial.

The attorneys representing Deek filed a motion to withdraw from the case today

Attorneys James Armstrong and Arthur Ames said Deek was ending their representation.

Deek's daughter, Juliana Berry, was beaten to death by Deek's boyfriend, Brian LaPrairie, who is serving a 23 year sentence.

Prosecutors said Deek did nothing to stop LaPrairie's abuse of her daughter. She faces charges of child endangering and involuntary manslaughter.

The lawyer from her first trial is out of the country and unavailable.Armstrong and Ames had been appointed by the court.

XENIA, Ohio -- Maybe he was looking for his close-up on "Law and Order."

A man accused in a number of crimes in Xenia apparently took off for New York City. That's where he was arrested.

Lawrence Moten, 37, is accused of robbing the Regency Inn in December.Cops nabbed him at a Brooklyn subway station over the weekend, He was trying to board the train without paying, according to police reports.

Clayton Brady, another suspect in the robbery, had already been arrested.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Two men charged in a home invasion and shooting made court appearances today.

Anthony Jones pleaded no contest to assault, robbery and kidnapping charges.

Demetrius Ewing pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Cops say the pair broke into an apartment on Misty Lane in Huber Heights last year, handcuffed three people inside and shot one person in the groin.

Both could face more than 100 years in prison.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER STORM WARNING for the Miami Valley from midnight tonight through 6 p.m. Wednesday..

As crews work to clear roads and restore power in areas where a foot of snow fell Friday and Saturday, forecasters say another winter storm is coming that could leave the state with another deep coating of white.

The National Weather Service has put most Ohio counties under a winter storm watch. Expected snowfall totals through Wednesday range from up to six inches in Cincinnati to as much as a foot in Toledo, Cleveland and Youngstown.

In the Dayton area, light snow is likely to arrive overnight, then become heavier into the afternoon tomorrow. Snow tapers off in the evening but gusty winds and drifting snow will continue to be a problem. Accumulation is expected to be 6" to 8" north and 4"-6" south.

Power companies reported this morning that they still had more than 10,000 Ohio customers without service from the weekend's storm. Most of the outages were in eastern Ohio.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's doctor has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the pop singer's death.

Prosecutors announced the charge Monday against Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died June 25. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Murray's attorney Ed Chernoff says Murray will plead not guilty.

Jackson hired Murray to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances in London.

Officials say the singer died in Los Angeles after Murray administered the powerful general anesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died.

He was 77.

Murtha had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.

In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending. But frustration over the Iraq war led him to call for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in 2005.

Murtha's congressional career was clouded by questions about his ethics -- from the Abscam corruption probe in 1980 to more recent investigations into the special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for election campaigns.

RIVERSIDE, Ohio -- An overnight house fire in Riverside forces a family into the cold.

It apparently started in a garage in the 1100 block of Beatrice around 2 a.m.

While the husband was at work, his wife and the rest of the family was at home. Everyone made it out safely, though the woman injured her ankle.

No word yet on a cause.

DAYTON, Ohio -- The Miami Valley is still recovering from a weekend winter storm, but the National Weather Service has now issued a winter storm watch that will be in effect between Monday night and Wednesday afternoon.

Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Kimberly Thomson is calling for snow to start Monday night and continue through Wednesday.  The NWS says the total accumulation may be as high as 6 inches.

Many areas are still dealing with accumulations between 8 and 12 inches from the storm this weekend.  While most interstates and major roadways are now clear, many rural and side roads are still snow-covered.

As of Sunday evening, snow emergencies were still active in several counties. 

A number of schools are on two-hour delays for Monday.  For the full list updated every minute, click here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Prices are a nickel higher this week at Ohio gas pumps, despite a drop in oil prices.

A survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express puts the current statewide average for regular-grade gasoline at $2.56 per gallon, up from $2.51 last Monday.

Locally, we've seen increases in the last week but find the lowest price at $2.37 a gallon at the Valero at Miller Lane and Maxton.

Oil prices fell sharply late last week as concerns over high unemployment in the U.S. and swelling debt levels in Europe cast doubt over the global economic recovery.

Ohio motorists are saving more than 20 cents a gallon compared to a month ago, when the average for regular was $2.77 around Ohio. One year ago, gas was averaging a much cheaper $1.83 statewide.

XENIA, Ohio -- A second trial is set to begin tomorrow for a Greene County mom in connection with the death of her two-year-old daughter.

Dayton Daily News reporter Christopher Magan reports Malak Deek goes on trial again after the first ended in a mistrial.

Deek's daughter, Juliana Berry, was beaten to death by Deek's boyfriend, Brian LaPrairie, who is serving a 23 year sentence.

Prosecutors said Deek did nothing to stop LaPrairie's abuse of her daughter. She faces charges of child endangering and involuntary manslaughter.

The new trial is expected to last two weeks.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A late night shooting in Dayton leaves a woman with a gunshot wound to the face.

It happened around 11 p.m. in the 4400 block of Eichelberger Avenue.

The woman was found in a vehicle. She was taken to Miami Valley Hospital where she is listed in critical condition.

Two suspects are in custody.

KETTERING, Ohio -- A sad anniversary observed Sunday for a Kettering family.

It marked eleven years since young Erica Baker disappeared while walking her dog.

Christian Gabriel was convicted in 2005 of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in connection with the case.

He was driving the van that hit Erica but Gabriel has not said where Erica is buried..

A remembrance was held yesterday at the Kettering Rec Center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Space shuttle Endeavour is rocketing toward the space station on one of the shuttle program's last scheduled missions.

Endeavour and its crew of six blasted off early Monday.

The pre-dawn launch was the last one in darkness if the rest of the shuttle schedule holds. Only four more shuttle flights are left.

Endeavour is carrying a new room for the International Space Station and an observation deck. These are the last major pieces for the orbiting complex.

The shuttle is scheduled to reach the space station Wednesday. Its flight was delayed a day by cloudy weather.

The Obama Administration has yet to provide specifics on what happens after the last mission this fall. NASA's back-to-the-moon Constellation program is a casualty under the new budget plan.

MIAMI (AP) -- They are literally dancing in the streets of New Orleans, which has been transformed into one big Bourbon Street. Their beloved Saints have gone from NFL laughingstock to Super Bowl champions.

The underdog Saints rallied with 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to shock the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win their first Super Bowl. The Saints, a symbol of hope in rebuilding the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, erased an early 10-point deficit to tie the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

Saints QB Drew Brees smartly controlled the game and was named MVP. Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two TDs, tying Tom Brady's Super Bowl record for completions. Brees went 7-for-7 on the go-ahead drive that ended with a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey with 5:42 left.

The Saints gambled for a two-point conversion that worked when Lance Moore made a shoestring catch from Brees that gave the Saints a 24-17 lead. At first the two-point conversion was not ruled a catch, but that was overturned when Saints coach Sean Payton challenged the call.

Holding the Super Bowl trophy, Brees said the Saints victory was "destiny" and added: "We knew we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us."

A 74-yard interception touchdown by Tracy Porter with 3:12 left capped the game. Four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning completed 31 of 45 passes for 333 yards with one TD and that one interception, the only turnover of the game.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Chris Johnson started Dayton's opening 17-3 run Saturday, and the Flyers led by double-digits the rest of the way in a 90-65 victory that knocked Xavier out of first place in the Atlantic 10.

Dayton (16-6, 5-3) was picked to win the Atlantic 10, but came into the game needing to split its season series with Xavier -- the three-time defending champion -- to stay in contention. The Flyers had lost eight of their last nine against the Musketeers (16-7, 8-2).

The Flyers never trailed, and out-rebounded the Musketeers 42-24 for the game. UD led 39-26 at halftime, and held X to its lowest first-half total of the season. The Flyers then added a season-high 51 points in the second half shooting 72.0% (18-25) from the field en route to shooting 56.4% (31-55) for the game.

Chris Johnson led a balanced offense with 18 points. Chris Wright added 17 and nine rebounds. Off the bench, Rob Lowery scored 16 points and Marcus Johnson 10 as Dayton's non-starters out-scored their Xavier counterparts 37-6. Wright also had a game-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots, and was named the Blackburn-McCafferty Most Valuable Player.

Xavier got into foul trouble fast and never recovered, finishing with its most lopsided loss of the season. Senior center Jason Love picked up two fouls in the opening 64 seconds, and backup Kenny Frease joined him on the bench at the 16:37 mark. Dayton scored the next 11 points and held at least a 10-point lead for the final 32 minutes of the game. Jordan Crawford led Xavier with 24 points.

Dayton will host Charlotte, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at UD Arena. Charlotte enters the game 17-6 overall and 9-1 in the Atlantic 10. The game can be heard on AM 1290 and 95.7 FM News Talk Radio WHIO beginning at 6 p.m. with the expanded Bud Light pregame show.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio transportation officials say $400 million in federal stimulus money for a new passenger train service is on the way.

The state Controlling Board will need to approve spending the money. Democrats control the board 4-3, but they will need at least one Republican to vote yes because Senate Republicans placed an amendment in Ohio's transportation budget last year requiring a super majority vote.

GOP leaders have said they won't object to the train project as long as the state has a solid financial plan.

Ohio's project calls for a start-up, 79-mph service connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati beginning in 2012. Studies are getting under way for a 110 miles-per-hour service that would later connect to Chicago and cities on the East Coast.

KETTERING, Ohio -- A teacher is charged with trying to illegally obtain prescription drugs.

Kelli Wynn of the Dayton Daily News reports that Jesse Weaver Jr., 41, of Trotwood, a teacher in the Dayton Public Schools, has been arrested.

Weaver, a physical education teacher at Fairview Elementary, has been with the district since 1991 and has been placed on unpaid leave pending a district hearing.

He was charged with two felony counts of deception to obtain a dangerous drug.

Cops say they found Weaver with 400 pills including Oxycontin, Percocet and Xanax.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A video-rental company dealing with bankruptcy will close most of it's local locations.

Today's Dayton Daily News reports that Movie Gallery Inc. plans to close six of its Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery stores in the Dayton area.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday and said 760 stores were slated for "immediate" closure.

Stores targeted for closure:

The Hollywood Video store at 1026 Patterson Road, Dayton, as well as locations in Springboro and Mason will remain open as will Movie Gallery stores in Blanchester, Germantown, Oxford, Maineville and Trenton.

Movie Gallery, Inc. is based in Wilsonville, Oregon.

LEBANON, Ohio -- The Warren County United Way chapter says no to a merger with Butler County's United Way.

The vote yesterday was 92 against to 27 for.

The Butler County chapter had okayed the proposal earlier.

Officials say the Butler County agency still wants to work with Warren County on future projects.

TROTWOOD, Ohio -- Trotwood schools attack a budget shortfall by taking teachers out of the classroom.

The district has eliminated 18 teaching positions along with 13 support staff positions.

The decision and vote came in a board vote last night.

Officials points to the failure of a levy in November for the cuts.

Trotwood schools still face deficits even with this move.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A woman is dies in a Dayton house fire last night.

It happened in the 600 block of Brooklyn Avenue.

Crews got into the home and found a woman in her 70s collapsed by the front door.

The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The fire appears to have been contained in a first-floor bedroom.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The last time Stephanie Clack saw her big sister, Paula Davis, they were sharing a pizza and talking about getting concert tickets. That was 22 years ago.

But the Kansas City, Mo.-area woman was recently watching the ABC television show "The Forgotten" and saw a public service announcement for the Web site NamUs, which helps locate missing people.

Stephanie entered some of the required data -- the last time and place her sister was seen, her age and identifying tattoos.

The search led her to authorities in southwest Ohio, where police said her sister's unidentified remains had been found near an I-70 on-ramp in Montgomery County in 1987, the victim of a strangling that has never been solved.

Now, the cast and crew from the TV show want to help pay the costs of returning the woman's remains to her sister in Missouri.

RIO DE JANERIO (AP) -- A Brazilian court has ordered the jailing of a rancher accused of masterminding the 2005 killing of an American nun in the Amazon.

The court on Thursday denied a writ of habeas corpus for Vitalmiro Moura. He is one of two ranchers charged with ordering the murder of Dayton native Dorothy Stang over a land dispute.

Moura was convicted in 2007, but was acquitted on an automatic retrial in 2008. That acquittal was overturned on a technicality last April and Moura has been free pending the habeas corpus ruling.

His next trial is expected sometime this year.

More than 1,100 land activists across Brazil were killed in the last 20 years over land disputes.

CAREY, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser responding to a call has rolled over on the side of a roadway, killing one trooper and injuring another.

The crash occurred Thursday evening just outside Carey, a village of about 4,000 residents in the northwest part of the state.

Police say Trooper Andrew C. Baldridge was driving with Trooper Mark McLaughlin to respond to an aid call from a Wyandot County sheriff's deputy when their car went off the right side of the roadway and rolled several times. They say both troopers appear to have been wearing seat belts.

Baldridge died in the crash. The 25-year-old had graduated from the highway patrol academy in December.

McLaughlin was injured and was hospitalized in fair condition. The 33-year-old is a highway patrol veteran.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones industrials have traded below 10,000 for the first time since Nov. 6. Stocks buckled under the growing belief that the global economy is weaker than many investors expected.

Investors pulled money out of the market after a flood of bad news Thursday. Debt levels are rising in Europe and the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly. And investors are anxious ahead of the government's January employment report, due out Friday.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow has ended the day down 268 at 10,002 after falling to 9,998 just before the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 is down 34 at 1,063. And the Nasdaq composite index is off 65 at 2,125.

Just 273 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while more than 2,800 fell. Volume came to 1.48 billion shares.

DAYTON, Ohio -- University of Dayton men's basketball player Kurt Huelsman has been named First Team University Division ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV.

A senior from St. Henry, Ohio, Huelsman is an Operations Management major. He has started every game of his college career, a 121-game span that is the Dayton record and the eighth-longest active streak in the country. The Flyers have won 84 games he has started in his not-quite four-year career. He is second on the team in FG% (.542, 32-59) and blocked shots (16), third in rebounding (3.6) and averages 4.2 points a game.

Huelsman is a two-time team captain, UD Best Defender Award recipient and Macbeth Scholar-Athlete Award winner. He is also a three-year member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Also named to the all-district team were Marc Larson and Joe Jakubowski of Bowling Green, Zack Novak of Michigan and Cooper Land of Wright State.

Huelsman was also one of four players from the Atlantic 10 Conference named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District. Duquesne's Jason Duty, along with Yves Mekongo and Steve Wiengarten from La Salle, were named in District I.

Flyer women's basketball player Kristin Daugherty was selected second team academic all-district.

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team is the first step in selecting this year's Academic All-America team. Everyone named to the district first teams appears on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America national ballot.

Covering all sports, at least one University of Dayton student-athlete has been named an Academic All-American for 26 straight years. Flyer head coach Brian Gregory was an Academic All-American in 1990 while playing for Oakland University.

The District IV teams are made up of student-athletes from Division I-A and I-AA schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve, and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher. Team members are selected by a vote of members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) within the district.

Dayton is 15-6 overall, and hosts Xavier Saturday at 12 noon. The game can be heard beginning at 11 a.m. with the expanded Bud Light pregame show on AM 1290 and 95.7 FM, News Talk Radio WHIO.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A man accused of putting a baby's hand in boiling water gets the max.

Valerie Lough of the Springfield News-Sun reports that Jason Overman, 25, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to child endangering.

Cops say Overman injured the 4-month-old child of a woman he knew in February 2009.

Medical professionals said that the child's hand could have been held in the water for several seconds.

Overman claimed the child's injury was an accident.

(Information from the Springfield News-Sun)

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- Toyota USA says it is evaluating brake problems with the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid, but no decision has been made about a recall.

Company spokesman Brian Lyons says it's too soon to talk about a recall. He says the automaker is cooperating fully with a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe into the brake troubles.

The government is investigating reports that antilock brakes can fail momentarily on some 2010 Prius models in slippery conditions or on rough roads.

The company says it made a change in the 2010 braking system last month to correct cars in production. The company has not made a decision about cars on the road.

The U.S. government says it has received 124 reports from consumers about the Prius brakes, including four reports of crashes.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Chaos this morning as a car burst into flames at a gas station.

It happened at the Valero gas station at Philadelphia and Siebenthaler.

The fire burst out as a woman coasted to a stop at the pumps and stepped out of her car.

People at the station tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher but could not.

Dayton firefighters put the fire out.

No was hurt and no word on what sparked the fire.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- A Haitian attorney says 10 Americans detained in Haiti for trying to take 33 children out of the country after the Jan. 12 earthquake have been charged with child kidnapping.

Edwin Coq says the Americans also are charged with criminal association. The 10 appeared in court Thursday and were whisked away to a jail in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince.

Coq attended the session and has represented the group here.

Just minutes earlier, an attorney for the Americans in the neighboring Dominican Republic had said he expected nine of the 10 members of an Idaho-based church group were going to be released.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House has approved a measure allowing the government to borrow $1.9 trillion to pay its bills.

The measure would raise the so-called debt limit to $14.3 trillion -- more than $45,000 for every person living in the United States.

Democrats provided every "yes" vote in the 217-212 tally just as Republicans had to supply votes when they controlled Congress and the White House.

The massive increase in the debt is required because the government now has to borrow more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends because the recession has caused a slump in revenues at the same time spending has spiked.

Passage of the bill would send it to President Barack Obama, who will sign it to avoid a first-ever, market-rattling default on U.S. obligations.

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio has executed a man who killed a convenience store owner and clerk after bragging he would copy a similar movie slaying.

Mark Brown was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 10:49 a.m. Thursday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.

The 37-year-old Brown was sentenced to die for the 1994 fatal shooting of Isam Salman, 32, owner of Midway Market in Youngstown. Brown got a life prison term for killing clerk Hayder Al-Turk, 30, who was shot just before Salman.

Police say Brown bragged before the crime that he would copy similar slayings from the movie "Menace 2 Society."

Brown later blamed the shootings on being high on Valium-laced wine.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - For many people hit by this economic crisis their only lifeline is the unemployment check they receive to stave off desperation.

With Ohio unemployment at 10.9 percent Douglas Lumpikin, Director of The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, is urging congress to grant an extension of weekly benefits for those out of work.

Of the 430,000 currently receiving benefits, 25,000 to 30,000 will lose their benefits each week beginning February 27.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

GREENE COUNTY, Ohio - A crash on State Route 42 in between Xenia and Cedarville resulted in the death of a motorist.

A semi trailer was blocking the road while backing into an auto parts store when the driver of a pickup truck crested a hill and failed to see the semi.

The pickup truck driver collided with the trailer and sheared the cab off of the truck. The driver of the Semi was fine but the pickup truck driver died of his injuries.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A federal jury in Cleveland will get to work considering the case of a government drug agent accused of helping frame 17 people.

Deliberations begin Thursday in the trial of veteran Drug Enforcement Administration agent Lee Lucas, who's charged with 18 counts including obstruction of justice and perjury.

During Wednesday's closing arguments, federal prosecutor Bruce Teitelbaum told jurors the case against Lucas was strong, even without the testimony of a paid informant who has admitted framing

people.

When it was his turn, defense attorney Thomas Roth described government witnesses and evidence as "inexplicable" and "inconceivable."

If convicted, Lucas could face more than five years in prison.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - One man was taken to the hospital as the result of an accident at the intersection of Woodman Ave. and State Route 35.

Police say a Riverside cruiser was waiting at a traffic light when it was struck from behind.

The driver of the truck that collided with the police vehicle was taken to Miami Valley Hospital with minor injuries.

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A man who bragged he would copy a killing scene from a Samuel L. Jackson movie before he shot an Ohio convenience store owner and a clerk to death is scheduled for execution.

Thirty-seven-year-old Mark Brown is scheduled to be put to death by injection Thursday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.

Brown was sentenced to die for the 1994 fatal shooting of the owner of the Midway Market in Youngstown. He got a life prison term for killing the clerk.

State and federal courts refused Brown's last-minute request to delay the execution while he challenged the state's injection procedures. The state recently switched from a three-drug lethal injection to a one-drug system.

Brown blames the killings on an anti-anxiety drug.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.

DAYTON, Ohio - The City of Dayton has decided to raise the cost of trash collection from $91 to $113 annually to avoid budget cuts.

Joanne Huist Smith from the Dayton Daily News spoke with city manager Tim Riordan about the increase that will begin in April. "Without that increase, we would have to make further budget cuts" he said.

This will generate $1.3 million annually for the city. Regular service will remain the same with bulk waste pickup only occurring once a month.

Mayor Gary Leitzell, an opponent of the measure, said "I think we need to look at alternative ways of saving money."

Some propose increasing the amount of recycling to save money. That means 88% of Dayton's waste would need to be recycled to cover the $1.3 million.

Currently only 27% is recycled.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Voters will be asked in May to allow the state to issue $700 million in bonds over four years to continue funding a program credited with creating 48,000 jobs since its 2002 inception.

The Democratic-led House and Republican-led Senate both approved the Third Frontier measure on Wednesday, and it was sent to the secretary of state's office for placement on the May primary ballot.

On Tuesday, a committee of members from both chambers met to reach a compromise on the amount of funding needed. Gov. Ted Strickland calls the bipartisan agreement "a strong validation of the most successful economic development and job-creating program in Ohio."

The program provides startup money for companies in targeted industries such as alternative energy, biomedicine and advanced materials.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that Ohio environmental regulators have violated the federal Clean Air Act by allowing thousands of low-level polluters to go without the latest air-scrubbing technology.

In a decision issued late Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Mark Abel ordered Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Christopher Korleski to lift an exemption that his agency has been giving since 2006 to emitters of 10 tons of pollution or less per year.

Abel agreed with the Sierra Club that Ohio EPA is improperly granting the exemption without the permission of the federal government.

Ohio EPA spokeswoman Carol Hester said the agency was working Wednesday to determine what impact the decision would have.

 Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

FAIRBORN, Ohio - County officials have decided to demolish the county-owned pool in Community Park near I-675.

County commissioners were unable in 2009 to open both county-owned pools in Xenia and Fairborn because of budget constraints. The 2010 budget does not provide funding for the pools.

Christopher Magan of the Dayton Daily News spoke with county administrator Howard Poston about the budget limitations. "The bottom line is it didn't look promising those pools would ever reopen," he said.

Demolishing the pool is expected to cost around $100,000.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State's Board of Trustees plans to vote Friday on a proposal to increase 2010-2011 football ticket prices as much as $7 apiece and basketball tickets as much as $1 each and to raise membership dues at the university's golf course as much as $70 a year.

Athletic director Gene Smith said Wednesday the increases are needed to offset increases in operating costs and losses caused by a flagging economy.

Football tickets would go up $7 to a face value of $70 for reserved seats, and would be raised $4 for faculty and staff. Students would see a $1 increase. Basketball tickets would be raised $1 for a reserved seat to $18. Faculty, staff and students would pay 50 cents more.

Smith says the men's basketball program could lose more than $350,000 again this season.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - A former Trotwood Police officer who was indicted on charges stemming from the death of a prostitute has been found dead in his home in Alabama.

As authorities in Alabama approached the home of Tommy L. Swint they heard a single gunshot from within. Swint's body was found inside the house.

Less than an hour prior to the incident a Montgomery County jury indicted the 43 year-old Swint for the 1991 murder of Tina Marie Ivery.

A tree-trimming crew discovered Ivery's partially nude body Dec. 17, 1991, in a pile of trash on Dayton Liberty Road near Calumet Lane in Jefferson Twp.

Ivery had been beaten, strangled, and wrapped in trash bags before being dumped.

Doug Page and Lewis Sullivan spoke with Greg Flannagan, spokesman for County Prosecutor Mathais Heck, about the case before Swint was found dead.

"For the past 18 years, this case has remained unsolved," Heck said in a statement. "Now, through the advances in forensic science, we have identified the man who killed Ms. Ivery, and he will be brought to Montgomery County to be held accountable for his actions."

Swint worked for the Trotwood Police Department for less than two months in 2007. He was forced to resign when officials in Richmond, Ind., told Trotwood officials that Swint was a person of interest in the 2001 disappearance of Marilyn McCown.

The Dayton Daily News contributed to this article.

DAYTON, Ohio -  Junior Kristin Daugherty scored 18 points to lead the University of Dayton to a 70-55 win over Charlotte Wednesday morning at UD Arena.

The Flyers hosted "Math Day" and 2,733 fans, made up mostly of students from schools all over the Miami Valley, cheered UD on to its seventh consecutive home court victory. Dayton improved to 17-5 overall and 5-2 in the Atlantic 10 and dealt the 49ers (13-9, 6-2 A-10) just their second loss in conference play.

Senior Kendel Ross contributed 13 points for the Flyers.

The Flyers stay at home to host Saint Louis this Sunday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. ET at UD Arena. For their game vs. Xavier on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. ET the Flyers are holding  a UD Hoops for Haiti benefit. All proceeds on tickets from the Xavier game will go to Haiti relief. The cost of each ticket is $2 but larger monetary donations will also be accepted. The Flyers are also going to be selling T-shirts with all proceeds going to Haiti relief.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood now says he misspoke when telling owners of recalled Toyotas to stop driving them.

Instead, LaHood says take the vehicles to dealerships to get them repaired.

LaHood told reporters it was "obviously a misstatement" when he told a House panel earlier Wednesday that he would advise owners not to drive recalled vehicles. The remark came during testimony to the Appropriations subcommittee on transportation.

Toyota's most recent recall in the United States affects 2.3 million vehicles with the potential for sticking gas pedals.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Authorities said a former Trotwood officer was indicted Wednesday on murder charges.

Investigators said Tommy Swint was indicted in connection with the death of Tina Marie Ivery. This case dates back to December 1991.

In August 2007, Swint resigned amid rumors that he was a person of interest in the disappearance of Niqui McCown.

For more information, visit whiotv.com.